NASA astronaut Suni Williams retires after 27 years of service

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Sunita Williams has retired after 27 years of service.

Williams is most known for her extended stay of nine months aboard the International Space Station, when she was supposed to stay only for a week in 2024, due to technical problems with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

In a statement on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, NASA said the former Navy pilot and veteran astronaut, who joined the space agency in 1998, has retired effective December 27, 2026.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman shared a heartfelt note for Williams, declaring her to be a trailblazer in human spaceflight.

He wrote: “Williams helped shape the future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station and paving the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit.”

The 60-year-old astronaut flew on three missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Her first was in 2006 and her last began in 2024 which stretched until March 2025.

She spent 286 days aboard the ISS with Butch Wilmore during her last mission. The two astronauts were brought back to Earth via SpaceX Dragon capsule in March 2025.

According to the American space agency, Williams spent a total of 608 days in space.

Williams holds the record of longest cumulative spacewalk time by a woman as she logged 62 hours and 6 minutes, surpassing Peggy Whitson's previous record of 60 hours and 21 minutes.