NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Retires After 27-Year Career

Veteran NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, also known as Suni Williams, has officially retired from the American space agency after a distinguished 27-year career marked by record-setting missions and historic achievements. Her retirement took effect on Dec 27, 2025, concluding a legacy that helped shape modern human space exploration.

Williams is one of NASA’s most experienced spacefarers, having spent a total of 608 days in orbit across three spaceflights, placing her second on NASA’s list for cumulative time in space. She also holds the record for the most spacewalk time by a woman, with 62 hours and 6 minutes over nine spacewalks, and ranks among the top spacewalkers overall.

Her final mission was among her most notable. In June 2024, Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed test flight. A series of technical problems with the spacecraft extended what was planned as a short mission into an unexpected nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). 

The pair ultimately returned safely to Earth in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Williams’ journey into space began in 2006 with a mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Over her career, she served in key roles on Expeditions 14/15, 32/33, and 71/72 to the ISS, including time as station commander, and became the first person to run a marathon in space.

According to media reports, reflecting on her career, Williams said space had been her “absolute favorite place to be,” and she expressed confidence in NASA’s future endeavors, including its plans for returning humans to the Moon and eventually reaching Mars.

NASA officials praised her on her illustrious career and for being a trailblazer in human spaceflight, whose leadership and contributions will continue to inspire future generations of explorers.