National, Jan 21: Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from NASA after 27 years of service, bringing to a close one of the most distinguished careers in the history of human spaceflight. The agency confirmed that her retirement took effect at the end of December, with the announcement made public on January 20.
Williams, 60, steps away from NASA only months after completing one of the most unexpected endurance missions of her career. A test flight that was originally scheduled to last just over a week extended into more than nine months aboard the International Space Station due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. As a result, Williams and her crewmate, veteran astronaut Butch Wilmore, were unable to return as planned and remained on the station until they finally came back to Earth in March aboard a SpaceX capsule. Wilmore had already retired from NASA last summer.
In a statement, NASA hailed Williams as “a trailblazer in human spaceflight,” highlighting her leadership aboard the space station and her pivotal role in advancing commercial space missions in low Earth orbit. The agency noted that her contributions have helped lay the groundwork for future Artemis missions to the Moon and longer-term human exploration of Mars, adding that her achievements would continue to inspire future generations.
Over the course of three space station missions, Williams accumulated 608 days in space, the second-highest total ever recorded by a NASA astronaut. She also holds the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman, logging 62 hours across nine extravehicular activities. Among her many milestones, Williams became the first person to run a full marathon in space, completing the distance on a treadmill while orbiting Earth.
Her retirement marks the end of a career defined by resilience, technical excellence and historic firsts—one that has left a lasting imprint on NASA’s present missions and future ambitions in deep space exploration.
