Depending on weather conditions, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams will return to Earth aboard the Atlantis shuttle and join her friends and family on June 19, after a six-month stay in space, the longest period spent by a woman there.This was revealed by NASA sources following certification of Flight Readiness by senior managers at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday, where Atlantis got a green signal for launch on June 8.“Though we have been in touch via polycom, a video-conferencing device, and have seen her during this period, but it will be a joy to see her in person after so many months,” said her father Deepak Pandya. Williams will be in rehab for at least 45 days, depending on her overall health condition, after which her parents will join her in Houston, where she has been living since 1998 .The countdown for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-117 mission will start at 9 pm local time on June 5, at the T-43 hour point. The countdown includes 27 hours, 32 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at approximately 7:38 pm local time on June 8.
