NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Retires After Stellar 27 Year Career

Guwahati: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the space agency, after a remarkable 27-year career. During her career, Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station spending 608 days in space and set various human spaceflight records.

The retirement, announced by NASA on Tuesday, came into effect just after last Christmas, on December 27, 2025. “After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, effective Dec. 27, 2025. Ms. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting numerous human spaceflight records throughout her career,” NASA said in a statement issued on January 20.

The Indian-origin astronaut called space her “absolute favourite place” and emphasized teamwork in her success. Her career, including running the first marathon in space, has inspired future explorers and helped lay the groundwork for upcoming Moon and Mars missions.

Ms. Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams was born to a Gujarati father hailing from Jhulasan in Mehsana district and a Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, in the U.S.

She was selected by NASA in 1998 and has logged 608 days in space over her three flights. 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.

She has also completed nine spacewalks, which totals to 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.

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.

Williams is currently in India. On Tuesday afternoon, she participated in an interactive session hosted at the American Center in New Delhi.

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