After 27 Years, 3 Missions, 608 Days In Space, Sunita Williams Retires

The retirement, announced by NASA on Tuesday, came into effect just after last Christmas, on December 27, 2025.

21 Jan 2026, 01:50 · NDTV

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NASA astronaut Sunita Williams retired after a 27-year career, effective December 27, 2025
Williams logged 608 days in space, second highest for a NASA astronaut
She completed nine spacewalks totaling over 62 hours, the most by any female astronaut

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NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, whose last 10-day space mission stretched into nine-and-a-half months on the International Space Station (ISS), has retired after 27 years. The retirement, announced by NASA on Tuesday, came into effect just after last Christmas, on December 27, 2025.

“Suni Williams has been a trailblazer in human spaceflight, shaping the future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station and paving the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Her work advancing science and technology has laid the foundation for Artemis missions to the Moon and advancing toward Mars, and her extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations to dream big and push the boundaries of what's possible. Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, and thank you for your service to NASA and our nation.”

Also Read | 'Would Love To Go To The Moon, But Husband Would Kill Me': Sunita Williams To NDTV

608 Days In Space

Indian-origin astronaut Williams was selected by NASA in 1998 and has logged 608 days in space over her three flights. This is second on the list of cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut.

She ranks sixth on the list of longest single spaceflight by an American, tied with NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, both logging 286 days during NASA's Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions.

Williams has completed nine spacewalks, totalling 62 hours and 6 minutes, the most of any female astronaut, and fourth on NASA's all-time list. She was also the first person to run a marathon in space.

3 Space Missions In 27 Years

The 60-year-old NASA astronaut took her first flight to space on December 9, 2006, aboard space shuttle Discovery with the crew of STS-116. As a member of the Expedition 14/15, Williams served as a flight engineer and set a then-world record with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes.

Also Read | How Did India Look From Space? Sunita Williams' "Himalayas, Mumbai" Answer

The second mission came six years later, on July 14, 2012, when Williams launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a 127-day mission as a member of Expedition 32/33. Williams performed three spacewalks to repair an ammonia leak on a station radiator and replace a component that gets power from the station's solar arrays to its systems.

And, the third mission, which turned out to be the longest, saw Williams and Wilmore launch 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. The two astronauts returned to Earth in March 2025.

Williams' Indian Roots

Sunita Williams's father was a neuroanatomist born in Jhulasan, in Mehsana District, Gujarat, but later migrated to the US and married Bonnie Pandya, a Slovenian.

Born in Euclid, Ohio, she considers Needham, Massachusetts to be her hometown. Willians and her husband, Michael, enjoy hanging out with their dogs, working out, working on houses, cars, aeroplanes, hiking and camping.

"Space, An Absolute Favourite Place To Be"

“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favourite place to be,” said Williams. “It's been an incredible honour 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 was quoted by NASA.

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