New Delhi, Jan 21: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the US space agency after a distinguished 27-year career marked by multiple space missions and record-setting achievements in human spaceflight.
Williams, 60, is currently on a visit to India and on Tuesday took part in an interactive session at the American Center in New Delhi. Event posters described her as a retired NASA astronaut and retired US Navy captain.
NASA, in a statement issued on January 20, said Williams officially retired from the agency on December 27, 2025. Over the course of her career, she completed three missions aboard the International Space Station and played a key role in advancing space science and exploration.
During the interaction, Williams reflected on her experience of being stranded in space when what was initially an eight-day mission to the International Space Station turned into a prolonged stay of more than nine months due to technical issues with the Boeing spacecraft.
Born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, Sunita Williams is the daughter of a Gujarati father, Deepak Pandya, from Jhulasan in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, and a Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described Williams as a trailblazer who helped shape the future of human spaceflight through her leadership on the space station and contributions toward commercial missions in low Earth orbit. He said her work laid a strong foundation for future Artemis missions to the Moon and eventual missions to Mars.
Williams logged a total of 608 days in space, making her second among NASA astronauts in cumulative time spent in orbit. She also shares the sixth position for the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut, having spent 286 days in space during missions involving the Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9.
She carried out nine spacewalks, spending 62 hours and six minutes outside the station, the highest total by a woman and the fourth-highest overall. She was also the first person to run a marathon in space.
A native of Needham, Massachusetts, Williams holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy and a master’s degree from the Florida Institute of Technology. As a US Navy pilot, she logged more than 4,000 flight hours across 40 different aircraft before joining NASA.
Reflecting on her career, Williams said space had always been her favourite place and described her time at NASA as an honour made possible by the support of her colleagues. She said the International Space Station and its people played a crucial role in enabling future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Williams first flew into space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 2006 and later returned on Space Shuttle Atlantis. She served as a flight engineer during Expeditions 14 and 15 and conducted four spacewalks during that mission.
In 2012, she launched from Kazakhstan as part of Expedition 32/33, later serving as space station commander. Her most recent mission began in June 2024 aboard the Boeing Starliner, after which she joined Expeditions 71 and 72 and again commanded the space station. She returned to Earth in March 2025 as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
NASA officials and colleagues praised Williams for her dedication, leadership and inspiration, noting that her contributions will continue to influence future generations of astronauts and space explorers.
