Sunita Williams retires from NASA, concludes a remarkable 27-year career; spent 608 days in space

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Renowned NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the space agency after completing an extraordinary 27-year career. Her retirement became effective from December 27, 2025. During her long and distinguished service, she completed three missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and set several major milestones in human spaceflight.

According to NASA, Sunita Williams spent a total of 608 days in space, making it the second-longest time spent in orbit by any NASA astronaut. She carried out nine spacewalks with a combined duration of 62 hours and 6 minutes. This is the highest spacewalk time ever recorded by a female astronaut, and overall she ranks fourth on NASA’s all-time list. She also made history as the first person to run a marathon in space.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams, calling her a pioneer of human space exploration. He said her leadership aboard the space station laid a strong foundation for future missions and significantly supported preparations for the Artemis Moon missions and eventual human exploration of Mars.

Sunita Williams first traveled to space in December 2006 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. In 2012, she flew again from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and later served as Commander of the International Space Station. Most recently, she went to space in June 2024 as part of the Boeing Starliner mission and returned safely to Earth in March 2025.

Vanessa Wyche, Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said that Sunita Williams’ career stands as a symbol of leadership, dedication, and courage, and will continue to inspire future generations of astronauts. Speaking on her retirement, Williams said space would always remain her favorite place and described her time at NASA as the greatest honor of her life. She expressed hope that her work would further strengthen the path toward future Moon and Mars missions.