Washington, Jan 21 (.) NASA astronaut of Indian origin, Sunita “Suni” Williams has retired from the US space agency after 27 years of service, bringing to a close one of the most accomplished careers in human spaceflight.
NASA announced that her retirement became effective on December 27, 2025.
Williams, a veteran of three missions to the International Space Station (ISS), leaves behind a legacy marked by record-setting achievements and leadership roles that helped shape modern space exploration.
Over the course of her career, she spent a total of 608 days in space, the second-highest cumulative time logged by any NASA astronaut.
“Suni Williams has been a trailblazer in human spaceflight,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, praising her leadership aboard the space station and her role in advancing science and technology critical for future Artemis missions to the Moon and eventual missions to Mars.
Among her many milestones, Williams ranks sixth among American astronauts for the longest single spaceflight, having logged 286 days during NASA’s Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions, a record she shares with astronaut Butch Wilmore.
She also completed nine spacewalks totalling 62 hours and six minutes, the most by any woman and the fourth-highest cumulative spacewalk time in history. Williams was also the first person to run a marathon in space.
Williams launched for the first time aboard space shuttle Discovery with STS-116 in December 2006 and returned aboard space shuttle Atlantis with the STS-117 crew. She served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 14/15 and completed a then-record-breaking four spacewalks during the mission.
In 2012, Williams launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a 127-day mission as a member of Expedition 32/33. She also served as space station commander for Expedition 33. Williams performed three spacewalks during the mission to repair a leak on a station radiator and replace a component that gets power from the station’s solar arrays to its systems.
Most recently, Williams and Wilmore launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. She and Wilmore went on to join Expedition 71/72, and Williams again took command of the space station for Expedition 72. She completed two spacewalks on the mission and returned to Earth in March 2025, as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, described Williams as a “pioneering leader,” highlighting her contributions from space station operations to her role in the Starliner test flight programme.
Beyond space missions, Williams held several key leadership and training roles within NASA, including deputy chief of the Astronaut Office and director of operations in Star City, Russia. She also played a role in developing helicopter training programmes to prepare astronauts for future lunar missions.
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” said Williams. “It’s been an incredible honor to have served in the Astronaut Office and have had the opportunity to fly in space three times. I had an amazing 27-year career at NASA, and that is mainly because of all the wonderful love and support I’ve received from my colleagues.”
“The International Space Station, the people, the engineering, and the science are truly awe-inspiring and have made the next steps of exploration to the Moon and Mars possible. I hope the foundation we set has made these bold steps a little easier. I am super excited for NASA and its partner agencies as we take these next steps, and I can’t wait to watch the agency make history,” she added.
A native of Needham, Massachusetts, Williams is a retired US Navy captain, an accomplished pilot with over 4,000 flight hours, and a graduate of the US Naval Academy and Florida Institute of Technology.
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