NRI Sunita Williams

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NRI Sunita “Suni” Williams, Veteran NASA Astronaut, Retires After Trailblazing 27-Year Career

Los Angeles/Jan 21, 2026
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh

• NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired after 27 years of service, effective December 27, 2025.
• Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during her career.
• She logged a total of 608 days in space, the second-highest cumulative time by a NASA astronaut.
• Williams is tied for sixth-longest single spaceflight by an American, spending 286 days in space.
• She shares that record with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore.
• Williams completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes.
• She holds the record for the most spacewalk time by a woman in NASA history.
• Her spacewalk duration ranks fourth overall on NASA’s all-time list.
• Williams was the first person to run a marathon in space.
• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised her as a trailblazer in human spaceflight.
• NASA credited her work with helping advance commercial space missions and the Artemis Moon program.
• Williams first flew to space in December 2006 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116).
• She later returned on Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-117).
• She served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 14/15 on the ISS.
• In 2012, she launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome for a 127-day mission.
• Williams served as ISS Commander for Expedition 33 and later Expedition 72.
• During her career, she helped repair critical ISS systems through complex spacewalks.
• In June 2024, she flew aboard Boeing’s Starliner for the Crew Flight Test mission.
• She returned to Earth in March 2025 as part of SpaceX Crew-9.
• Williams said serving NASA and flying in space was an “incredible honor” and expressed excitement for future Moon and Mars missions.