By Sushant Agarwal
Published on | Jan 21, 2026
After 27 years of service, Sunita Williams retires at 60, leaving behind a legacy of record-breaking space missions and inspirational achievements.
Born on Sept 19, 1965, in Ohio to a Gujarati father and Slovenian mother, Williams’ multicultural roots shaped her space journey.
Williams spent 608 days in space over three ISS missions, performing nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours, setting women’s astronaut records.
First person to run a marathon in space, second-most cumulative time in space for a NASA astronaut, and fourth-highest total spacewalk time ever.
Williams has a bachelor’s in physical science, a master’s in engineering management, and 4,000+ flight hours in 40 aircraft as a US Navy captain.
- STS-116, Discovery (2006): First flight - Expedition 14/15: Flight engineer, 4 spacewalks
- Expedition 32/33: Station commander, 127-day mission, 3 spacewalks - Starliner & Crew-9 (2024-25): Commanded ISS, 2 spacewalks
An eight‑day 2024 mission extended to over nine months on the ISS due to Boeing Starliner issues, testing Williams’ endurance and expertise.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised her leadership, saying she shaped human spaceflight & paved the way for Artemis missions to the Moon & Mars.
"Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favourite place to be… I had an amazing 27-year career at NASA."