By Keerthi Ramesh
Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams steps away from NASA after 27 years of service and record-setting missions in space.
Sunita Williams, one of NASA’s most seasoned astronauts, has retired after a remarkable 27-year career that reshaped the agency’s entire human spaceflight program and inspired a generation of explorers.
Williams’ retirement, effective from Dec. 27, 2025, marks the end of a career defined by long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), record-breaking spacewalks and a sustained role in advancing
NASA’s strategic goals off the Earth. In a statement, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called her a “trailblazer in human spaceflight” whose leadership helped pave the way for many existing missions and future missions to the Moon and Mars.
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Williams logged a total of 608 days in space across three ISS missions, the second-highest cumulative total among NASA astronauts. She also ranks among the top Americans for longest single spaceflight, sharing sixth place with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore.
Her nine spacewalks, which totaled 62 hours and 6 minutes, remain the most ever spacewalks by a woman and place her fourth on NASA’s all-time list for cumulative spacewalk duration. Beyond her technical accomplishments, Williams also made history as the first person to run a marathon in space, completing the distance on a treadmill aboard the ISS.
Williams’ path to NASA began long before she reached orbit. A native of Needham, Massachusetts, she graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in physical science and went on to earn a master’s degree in engineering management. thr retired U.S. Navy captain, Williams was an accomplished pilot with more than 4,000 flight hours before entering the astronaut corps in 1998.
Her first spaceflight came in December 2006 aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-116 mission. During her stint as flight engineer on Expeditions 14 and 15, she set a then-record for spacewalks on a single mission. Williams returned to the ISS in 2012 as part of Expeditions 32 and 33, where she served as station commander and carried out crucial repairs during spacewalks.
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Williams’ most recent mission began in June 2024 with the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, a test mission that was intended to last only days but extended to more than nine months due to technical challenges. Williams and Wilmore later joined ISS Expedition 71/72 and returned to Earth in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule as part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission.
Throughout her career, Williams also served in key leadership roles within NASA, including as deputy chief of the Astronaut Office and director of operations in Star City, Russia. She participated in analog missions such as NASA’s Extreme Environments Mission Operations (NEEMO), which simulates space conditions underwater.
Williams’s achievements extend beyond institutional milestones. As an Indian American astronaut, she became a symbol of global aspiration, often speaking about her heritage and the view of Earth from space as a unifying force.
As she transitions into retirement, NASA and the broader space community credit Williams for helping shape the agency’s future from low-Earth orbit partnerships to preparations for deep space exploration.