NEW DELHI JAN 21 : NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has officially retired from the space agency after a distinguished 27-year career marked by three International Space Station missions and multiple human spaceflight records. Her retirement became effective on December 27, 2025.
Williams, 60, is currently visiting India and participated in an interactive session at the American Center in New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon. The event, titled “Eyes on the Stars, Feet on the Ground,” featured posters identifying her as “NASA Astronaut, Ret. and US Navy Captain, Ret.”
During the session, Williams shared her recent experience aboard the ISS when what was planned as an eight-day mission extended to over nine months due to technical problems with their Boeing spacecraft. This unexpected challenge became one of the defining moments of her final mission.
NASA announced Williams’ retirement in a statement issued on January 20, highlighting her remarkable accomplishments. She logged 608 days in space—the second-highest cumulative time by any NASA astronaut. Her most recent mission resulted in 286 days in orbit, tying her with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore for the sixth-longest single spaceflight by an American.
Williams completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes, holding the record for most spacewalk time by a woman and ranking fourth on the all-time cumulative spacewalk duration list. She also became the first person to run a marathon in space.
Born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, Williams comes from a multicultural background. Her father, Deepak Pandya, hails from Jhulasan in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, is Slovenian. A Needham, Massachusetts native, Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy and a master’s in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology.
As a retired US Navy captain, Williams is an accomplished pilot with over 4,000 flight hours across 40 different aircraft, including both helicopters and fixed-wing planes.
Williams’ space career began in December 2006 when she launched aboard space shuttle Discovery with STS-116, returning on shuttle Atlantis with the STS-117 crew. During this mission serving as flight engineer for Expeditions 14/15, she completed four spacewalks—a record at the time.
Her second mission in 2012 launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome for a 127-day stay as part of Expedition 32/33. Williams commanded the station during Expedition 33 and performed three spacewalks to repair a radiator leak and replace power system components.
Most recently, Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 for NASA’s Crew Flight Test mission. She joined Expeditions 71/72, again commanding the station during Expedition 72, and completed two more spacewalks before returning to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams as “a trailblazer in human spaceflight,” noting that her leadership aboard the space station helped shape commercial missions to low Earth orbit while advancing science and technology for future Artemis lunar missions and Mars exploration.
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” Williams said in the NASA statement. “It’s been an incredible honor to have served in the Astronaut Office and have had the opportunity to fly in space three times.”
She expressed gratitude for her colleagues’ support throughout her career and pride in the foundation established for future missions. “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.”
Scott Tingle, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA Johnson, described Williams as “incredibly sharp, and an all-around great friend and colleague” who has inspired countless people, including fellow astronauts. Throughout her NASA career, Williams held numerous roles beyond her spaceflight duties, contributing to various aspects of the agency’s operations and future planning.
