NASA astronaut Suni Williams, stranded in space for nine months due to a spacecraft malfunction, has retired after a 27-year career with the agency.
WASHINGTON: NASA astronaut Suni Williams has retired after 27 years of service.
Her retirement follows a nine-month ordeal stranded in space due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Williams stepped down on December 27, making that ill-fated mission her final journey to space.
She and fellow astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore launched in June 2024 for an eight-day test flight of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
The crew was unexpectedly marooned when the spacecraft developed propulsion issues en route to the International Space Station.
The capsule was later deemed unfit for the return journey.
NASA ultimately entrusted their astronauts’ safe return to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Williams and Wilmore finally returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX vehicle in March 2025.
Wilmore announced his own retirement in August of that same year.
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” Williams said in a statement.
She called her time with NASA “an incredible honor.”
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams as a “trailblazer in human spaceflight.”
He said she shaped the “future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station.”
During her career, Williams logged 608 days in space.
This is the second-most cumulative time in space by any NASA astronaut.
The extended Starliner mission also places her sixth for the longest single spaceflight by an American.
Williams completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours.
This is the most spacewalk time by any woman and the fourth-most on the all-time cumulative list.
