At a Glance
- Suni Williams retired Dec. 27 after 27 years with NASA
- She logged 608 days in space, second-most in agency history
- Her final mission stretched from 1 week to 9 months due to Starliner issues
- Why it matters: Williams holds the U.S. record for female spacewalk time and helped shape commercial spaceflight
NASA astronaut Suni Williams has ended her 27-year career with the space agency, departing less than nine months after an unplanned extended stay aboard the International Space Station that stretched a one-week test flight into a 286-day mission.
Williams, whose retirement took effect December 27, joined NASA in 1998 after serving as a Navy pilot, according to a statement released Tuesday.
Record-Setting Space Legacy
Over three missions, Williams accumulated 608 days in orbit, placing her second on NASA’s all-time list for cumulative time in space. She also claimed the top spot among female astronauts for spacewalk duration, spending 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the station across multiple excursions-good for fourth among all NASA astronauts.
Her final flight launched June 5, 2024, when she and crewmate Butch Wilmore lifted off inside Boeing’s Starliner capsule for what was supposed to be a quick demonstration of the spacecraft’s first crewed voyage. Thruster malfunctions during docking forced NASA to reassess the vehicle’s safety, and by September the agency opted to bring Starliner home empty while keeping the two astronauts on station.
Nine Months in Orbit
Instead of a week-long checkout, Williams and Wilmore remained aboard the ISS for more than nine months. A SpaceX Dragon capsule ultimately ferried them-and two other astronauts concluding standard six-month tours-back to Earth on March 18, 2025, splashing down off Florida’s coast.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams for shaping the future of human spaceflight.
“Suni Williams has been a trailblazer in human spaceflight, shaping the future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station and paving the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit,” Isaacman said in the release.
Williams’ first station visit came in 2006 aboard shuttle Discovery, kicking off a career filled with milestones and unexpected twists.
Reflections on an Extended Stay
Despite the detour, both astronauts maintained positive spirits about their prolonged stay.
“The plan went way off for what we had planned, but because we’re in human spaceflight, we prepare for any number of contingencies,” Wilmore told reporters in late March after landing. “This is a curvy road. You never know where it’s going to go.”
Williams credited her body’s familiarity with microgravity for easing the return to Earth.
“Though it was longer than any flight either one of us have flown before, I think my body remembered,” she said in a June interview alongside Wilmore.
Parting Words to the Next Generation
In NASA’s farewell statement, Williams called her decades with the agency an “incredible honor” and reiterated her lifelong passion for space.
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” she said.
Before offering advice to future explorers, Williams gave a nod to her hometown.
“Astronaut Suni Williams took a moment to shout out her hometown of Needham, Massachusetts,” the release noted.
Key Takeaways
- Williams retires as one of NASA’s most experienced astronauts, holding the U.S. record for female spacewalk time
- Her final mission became an endurance test for commercial crew operations after Starliner technical problems
- The 286-day stay ranks among the longest single flights in U.S. spaceflight history
- NASA continues to rely on SpaceX Dragon while Boeing works through Starliner challenges
