CLEVELAND — Astronaut Suni Williams, who was born in Northeast Ohio and became famous worldwide for her unexpected nine-month stay on the International Space Station, returned to her early roots to share stories from her extended stay in space.
It's all a part of Ohio Space Week and Discovery Days at the Great Lakes Science Center.
Williams' most recent mission, alongside astronaut Butch Wilmore, was supposed to last eight days as part of a test flight for Boeing's Starliner. That turned into a nine-month ordeal following multiple delays.
"It's like you went to some beautiful place on a vacation and said, 'I wish I could have seen this, this and this,'" Williams reflected. "Same thing. While we're up there, we ended up staying a little longer, had to pivot a little bit. Part of the International Space Station's crew did all sorts of science experiments, things I thought I would never get to do again from my previous missions, as well as a couple spacewalks."
Williams was born in Euclid, where her parents met.
"My mom is Slovenian and there's a Slovenian group here in the Cleveland area," she explained. "My father immigrated here from India and came to do his residency at Case Western Reserve University. My mom and dad ended up working at the same hospital and we joke they met in the dark room because my mom is an X-ray technician."
Williams told News 5 that she's looking forward to visiting some of her family favorites, including Azman Quality Meats in Euclid. It has been previously reported that on one mission, Williams took a Slovenian flag and meat from Azmans with her.
Over the course of her career, Williams flew to space three different times. Even simple activities like decorating holiday cookies became an experience in the zero-gravity environment.
"It's a lot different from being on Earth: you can decorate vertically, which is pretty neat," Williams smiled. "Your frosting can go up vertically. Not just on the cookie."
Despite the challenges of her extended mission, Williams has no regrets about the experience.
"Happy to be back here on Earth, I do miss my home away from home in space," she said.
Williams is scheduled to speak on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Great Lakes Science Center as part of Discovery Days and Ohio Space Week.
The event is free and open to the public.
