Sunita Williams retires from NASA after 27 years of service, three ISS mission, 608 days in space

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams retired after 27 years of service, effective December 27, 2025. In a remarkable career that included three missions to the International Space Station, Williams set numerous human spaceflight records, including 608 days of spaceflight, the second most cumulative duration ever recorded by a NASA astronaut.

“Suni Williams has been a pioneer in human spaceflight, shaping the future of exploration through her leadership on the space station and paving the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “His work advancing science and technology laid the foundation for Artemis’ progress to the Moon and Mars, and his extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations to dream big and push the boundaries of what is possible. We congratulate you on your well-deserved retirement and thank you for your service to NASA and our nation,” NASA said in a statement.

Williams spent 608 days in space; This ranks second on the list of total time spent in space by a NASA astronaut. It ranks sixth on the list of longest single space flights by an American, along with NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, who both logged 286 days during NASA’s Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions.

Williams also completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes, which ranks as the most spacewalk time by a woman and ranks fourth on the all-time cumulative spacewalk time list. He became the first person to run a marathon in space.

(This is a developing story)