Needham celebrates as "hometown hero" astronaut Suni Williams returns to Earth
After almost 10 months in space, Needham native Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore are back on Earth. The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down as planned off the coast of Florida Tuesday evening.
"We are so proud of her"
At a watch party at The Common Room in Needham, cheers erupted for their hometown hero.
"A big relief," said Maria, one of Suni's former classmates. "She's been away for too long. She's amazing. She does things that are so incredible, and we are so proud of her. She's just our hero."
Needham residents were excited and anxious for the return of Williams and Wilmore after their 286-day space odyssey.
Williams' flight suit and other NASA artifacts are enshrined at the Sunita Williams Elementary School in Needham, which was named after her in 2019.
"I think it's an exciting day and exciting return. We love Suni here. She is our local shero," said Kiana Brunson, principal of the elementary school.
Students, faculty and families watched her triumphant return.
"We all kind of feel relieved that she's, like, safe, and, yeah, we're so excited to see her again," said Needham student Priya Butler.
"It's, like, so cool that's she's a part of our town and everybody knows her across the entire country," said Jaya Butler. "I'm so proud to have gone to her school."
Inspiring the community
"I think it's really great for kids to see that someone who grew up in this community and graduated from Needham Public Schools can go on to become someone so successful and explore the world beyond, the universe, and it helps our students understand what's really possible," Brunson said.
Members of Williams's 1983 graduating class described her as smart, funny and athletic.
"It is so exciting and we're so proud to have a classmate that is so successful and did something so amazing," said Donna Zambito, who went to school with Williams.
Many Needham students said they had met Williams, who often gives talks at the Needham Public Schools, even though she no longer lives in the community.
Their mission was originally expected to last only eight days in orbit, but the spacecraft suffered multiple propulsion system helium leaks and thruster problems. Now 286 days later and covering 121 million miles since their launch last June, both Williams and Wilmore are coming home.
"It's just dream big, you can do anything," former classmate Maria said. "If a girl that we graduated with and used to muck about in Needham can be in the space station setting records for the world, then you can do anything."
