Stranded Astronaut Sunita Williams's Husband Says Space Is "Her Happy Place"

Imagine planning to be gone for eight days for work ... only for your trip to be extended to eight months?

For most people, that would probably sound absolutely bonkers. But if you're an astronaut, it's apparently not completely out of the ordinary.

Take, for example, Frank Rubio, who went to space in 2022 and expected to be gone six months, only for his trip to be extended by another six months thanks to a coolant leak.

Which now brings us to Sunita ("Suni") Williams and Butch Wilmore, who headed out to the final frontier for a weeklong mission in June 2024, but are now expected to be stranded at the International Space Station until February 2025. Why? Well, apparently their Boeing Starliner capsule may not be safe enough for them to take home, so NASA has turned to SpaceX for help in bringing Suni and Butch earthside.

It's going to be a while until they return, which means their families have to endure a long wait. Butch is married with two kids, but what about Suni?

Yes, Suni is married. Her husband, Michael Williams, is a former U.S. Marshal, specifically a chief inspector in the Judicial Security Division. According to a LinkedIn page that appears to be for Suni's husband, Michael has been retired since 2016.

Before his 20 years of work with the U.S. Marshals Service, Michael was a deputy sheriff in San Diego for a year from 1995–'96, and before that, he was a naval aviator/flight instructor with the U.S. Navy for eight years, from 1987 to 1995. He's a 1987 graduate from the United States Naval Academy, where he earned his B.S. in physical science.

And thankfully, it seems that Michael isn't too worried about how his wife is faring while up in space, because as he told the Wall Street Journal in August 2024: "That's her happy place."

Suni's mother, Bonnie Pandya, told TMZ in August 2024 that her daughter is doing well and that Suni has been preparing for this type of situation throughout her career. Bonnie also seems to be used to the intricacies that come with having an astronaut in the family.

"I'm a mother of an astronaut," Bonnie explained. "She's been an astronaut for 20 years. I understand all these things, so it's not bothering me too much. Although I want her to make sure she's safe before she comes back down."

"So actually I'm very happy that they decided not to send her down right away," Bonnie added. "You never know; there were two accidents with the shuttle already, and I sure as heck wouldn't want that to happen to my daughter, or anybody else, for that matter. So, better safe than sorry; that's all I think about."