A down to earth chat with Massachusetts astronaut Sunita Williams

Years after going from Needham Rocket to NASA astronaut, Sunita Williams still considers Massachusetts her home - even from thousands of miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. While in space, the Needham High School graduate kept up with the Patriots, wore her Red Sox cap and even ran her own version of the Boston Marathon.

Williams also set several records for space travel, taking more space walks and spending more time in space than any other woman in history. When she landed in California June 22, she had lived aboard the space station for 195 days.

A week and half after her return to Earth, Williams talked with the Needham Times about her time in space and childhood in Needham.

GateHouse News Service: So, how have you been doing? How are you acclimating?

Sunita Williams: Oh, good. You know it was, like I said, a little rough 24 to 48 hours. One of the typical problems people have after living in space for a while, and actually even just being up there for a short while, is called neuro-vestibular. Because your ear hasn't been subjected to gravity for quite some time, it just takes a little while to adjust. And so moving around quickly, having quick head movements, for me caused some nausea. So, it was a little bit dizzying and disorienting to try to walk and turn corners and stuff like that. It took just about 24 hours for that to calm down, but about 48 hours till it just totally went away.

Now, for the last week, we're doing rehab and I feel pretty good. My bones are in good shape, my muscles are in pretty good shape, I'm just getting back to my old self.

GHS: It's been about a week and a half since you returned from space. Do you miss the space station and your other astronauts, or are you still excited to be home?

SW: Absolutely, I miss it up there, and I miss my friends that I, of course, gained - or even got to know a little bit better - while I was up there and shared that experience with. But, you know, being on earth is pretty awesome as well. I have a lot of goods friends and family down here, and a lot of good food to eat, and my dog to see, and stuff like that, too.

I love it. I love being up there and I love being back here. I miss floating, I miss looking at the clouds from above rather than below. It's been raining a lot in Houston here. That felt good, for like the first few times I got caught in a rainstorm, but now it's getting a little tiring getting wet.

GHS: So what sort of things have you done that you missed?

SW: Well, of course, on Saturday we got back form California, and that was just sort of a relaxing day. I just hung out outside, sitting next to the pool, which was pretty nice to put my feet in a pool of water. And my dog and my mom and my sister and husband were here, so we just got to catch up and stuff like that, which was really nice.

And the physical trainers came by. I had, initially, a little bit of back pain, which is also usual because your spine, which expands in space, you know, starts to compress again. So the trainers came over and I got a little bit of a massage, so that was nice.

Then Sunday night I had my pizza that I was waiting for a long time from a local pizza place here. We had a couple different types of pizza - pepperoni and mushrooms and feta cheese and banana peppers, so it was a pretty good selection.

This last week was full of rehab, and it's hot here in Houston, so we didn't get to the beach until Saturday. But Saturday, the four of us and my dog took a nice long walk on the beach in Galveston, so that was pretty awesome.

And, you know, just getting to the couple of local restaurants that I really like, for sushi and stuff like that. Just getting back to work.

One of the things that I absolutely didn't miss was my cell phone, cause that's sorta been ringing quite I bit and I sorta wish I didn't have one. And I was glad I didn't have one for the last six months.

GHS: So, did you know when you stepped on the shuttle last fall - or I guess it was last winter - that you'd be breaking all these records before you came home?

SW: Well, you know, there was some thought about it. But I've been in the space program for quite some time, and I know that things change quite a bit depending upon how the vehicles are acting or acting up, or having some difficulties or some problems. We have an overall idea and thought of how the assembly sequence is going to occur for the space station, but there are so many factors, it's so complicated and there so many people that are working on it. One of the things I understood and knew was that everything could change.

So, there was an idea when I went into this that I was probably going to do four space walks, and there was also the idea that I was going to be up there for six months, but you guys know as well as me how the shuttle launches sometimes vary, so I never really knew exactly how everything was going to turn out.

You know, that was in the back of my mind - "yeah, those things could happen" - but that doesn't really make or break my enthusiasm for the mission or my enthusiasm for the space program, and hopefully that was shared with or without any of those records.

GHS: So what did you think when you realized you were going to be breaking these records?

SW: Well, you know, I also thought, too, the second part of that - something that I mentioned when I came back here, because there was a lot of people in the audience in Ellington for our welcome-back ceremony - and it sorta was a time and a place where I was able to make those things happen, just sorta being lucky. I was quoting Tony Dungy, who was the coach of the Indianapolis Cults, who beat our Patriots, unfortunately, didn't let them go to the Super Bowl. But he was quoted about being the first African-American [head coach] to win the Super Bowl … And he said exactly what I felt, that the talent and the skills to do any of these records has been there and will be there past me. And making those records was just being there in the right place at the right time.

And personally, as a female doing some of these things, I just hope my records are broken pretty soon because that means we're doing the right things.

GHS: Now, you were born in Ohio and you live now in Houston, so why do you consider Needham your home?

SW: Well, we moved to Needham when I was about 1, so anything I remember about growing up happened, essentially, in Needham, between 1 and 17. When I was 17, I went to college, so that was the first time I really left.

We lived in two houses, I think, in Needham: One in Needham Heights and one on Wendling Road. That was where I grew up, climbing trees, riding a bike, loving sports and stuff like that, and where I graduated from high school and sorta paved the way for the rest of my life. So that's why I consider Needham and Boston my hometown.

GHS: What was it like growing up in Needham? Did you ever dream you'd grow up to be a famous astronaut?

SW: No, and I still don't really consider myself that. That sounds pretty funny.

No, I loved animals and I really thought I'd grow up and be a vet. I thought I might go to college in Boston when I was growing up because I like the city and there are colleges everywhere. My father was not only a doctor, but also a professor at a number of the colleges there, so I sorta thought I would be there, and stay in Massachusetts. And I love it, and that's probably why I go home at least twice, three or four times a year, because I love it up there.

But you know things happen, you make decisions, and I made the decision about going to college at the Naval Academy and that sorta entered another chapter of my life and opportunities and stuff like that.

But I think I'll always come back to Massachusetts, because having been all over the world for the Navy, I've found I still like the Northeast - it's sorta my favorite place to be. And hopefully I'll be able to live there again one day.

GHS: I know you've kept in touch with Angela DiNapoli's class [of fifth-graders at the Newman School] over the last six months. Did you ever think you'd be such a role model?

SW: No, not really. Actually I was shocked to read some of the stuff you guys wrote, or maybe it was the Globe, I'm not sure. But there was a note about this little girl named Rebecca who is a competitive swimmer as well, so we had a little in common and she felt a connection with us. And I was pretty overwhelmed and thrilled with the whole idea that a little kid could go, "Yeah, I want to be like her." That's cool.

You know, I knew it would happen from being an astronaut of course, because being an astronaut, there's no denying it, it's a neat profession. When you say, "Oh, I'm an astronaut," people say, "wow, that's pretty cool." And it is.

So you think, maybe it is, but I never really thought of me personally being a role model. But if I could connect with some kids and kids can identify with my because I'm wearing a Red Sox hat or I swam, well that means I lot to me and I take it pretty seriously and hope to be a good role model for them.

GHS: I understand you got a lot of packages from them.

SW: Oh, yeah. I even got some binary code that they were learning about that said stuff like "Go Red Sox" and stuff like that, "Hello to Gorby," and stuff like that. It was great, it was really cool. There were wonderful supporters.

GHS: Now I know I only get 10 minutes, so I've got to let you go, but real quick: There's definitely some talk around here about having a parade in your honor. Do you have any specific plans for a return to Needham?

SW: I do. We're working on that with the PAO folks here, trying to figure out when's the best time to get up there. I know I'd like to come up in the fall. I might come up to see my parents a little earlier than that, but absolutely I'll come up to Needham, maybe after school starts.

GHS: All right, well thank you so much for talking to me, I really appreciate it. It's been fun.

SW: My pleasure, Neal, you tell everyone in Needham I said "hi."

Neal Simpson of The Needham (Mass.) Times can be reached at nsimpson@cnc.com.