NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Retires After 27-Year Trailblazing Career

New Delhi, Jan 21: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the US space agency, bringing to a close a distinguished 27-year career marked by three missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and several landmark human spaceflight records.

Williams, 60, who is currently visiting India, took part in an interactive session titled “Eyes on the Stars, Feet on the Ground” at the American Center here on Tuesday. Event posters described her as ‘NASA Astronaut, Ret. and US Navy Captain, Ret.’ During the interaction, she recounted her experience of being stranded in space when an eight-day ISS mission turned into a nine-month-long challenge due to technical issues with the Boeing spacecraft.

Confirming her retirement, NASA said in a statement issued on January 20 that Williams retired effective December 27, 2025. “After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, completing three missions aboard the International Space Station and setting numerous human spaceflight records,” the statement said.

Born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams is the daughter of Gujarati father Deepak Pandya from Jhulasan village in Mehsana district and Slovenian mother Ursuline Bonnie Pandya.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman hailed her contributions, saying Williams had been a trailblazer in human spaceflight whose leadership aboard the space station helped shape the future of exploration. “Her work advancing science and technology has laid the foundation for Artemis missions to the Moon and the journey toward Mars. Her extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations,” he said.

Over her career, Williams logged 608 days in space, ranking second among NASA astronauts for cumulative time in orbit. She is also tied for sixth-longest single spaceflight by an American, having spent 286 days in space during NASA’s Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions.

She completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and six minutes — the most by a woman and the fourth-highest cumulative spacewalk time overall. She was also the first person to run a marathon in space.

A native of Needham, Massachusetts, Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in physical science from the US Naval Academy and a master’s degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology. A retired US Navy captain, she is an accomplished helicopter and fixed-wing pilot with over 4,000 flight hours in 40 aircraft.

“Space is my absolute favourite place to be,” Williams said, reflecting on her career. “It’s been an incredible honour to serve in the Astronaut Office and fly in space three times. I had an amazing 27-year career at NASA, thanks to the support of my colleagues.”

Williams first launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in December 2006 on STS-116 and returned on STS-117. She later flew to space in 2012 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for Expeditions 32/33, serving as station commander. Most recently, she flew aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024 and later commanded Expedition 72 before returning to Earth in March 2025.

Scott Tingle, chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office, described her as “an all-around great friend and colleague” who inspired generations of astronauts. “We’re all going to miss her greatly,” he said. (Agencies)