NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who returned to Earth in March 2025 after spending nine months in space due to technical glitches with the Boeing Starliner capsule that took her and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore to space, has now announced her retirement.
It should be noted that just a few months ago, Wilmore announced his own retirement. The toll that spending nine months in space takes on a person’s health may have contributed to both of them stepping away from active duty.
However, despite the severe technical issues that forced Williams and Wilmore to spend a total of 286 days in space instead of the originally planned eight days, Williams’ love for space remains unchanged. She said, “space is my absolute favourite place to be.”
Williams added, “It’s been an incredible honor to have served in the Astronaut Office and have had the opportunity to fly in space three times. The International Space Station, the people, the engineering, and the science are truly awe–inspiring and have made the next steps of exploration to the Moon and Mars possible. I hope the foundation we set has made these bold steps a little easier.”
For those that don’t know, Suni Williams is one of the most accomplished astronauts in history. I felt very fortunate to meet her at the Crew 1 launch in late 2020.
She was selected in 1998, spent more than 600 days in space, commanded Expedition 33, completed nine spacewalks… https://t.co/SwrkJrL8zK
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) January 21, 2026
Williams has given 27 years of her life in service, and speaking about her retirement, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, “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 then added, “Her work advancing science and technology has laid the foundation for Artemis missions to the Moon and advancing toward Mars, and her extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations to dream big and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Congratulations on your well–deserved retirement, and thank you for your service to NASA and our nation.”
After returning from space, Williams’ health showed some concerning signs, including weight loss, as observed by NASA. Speaking about how being in space for such a long period of time might affect the body, Williams said, “I think things shift around quite a bit, you probably heard of a fluid shift. Folks in space you know, their heads look a little bit bigger because the fluid evens out along the body.”
Congrats Suni on your retirement from NASA. Sunita “Suni” Williams is one of the coolest women in spaceflight. She’s flown on the space shuttle, Soyuz, Starliner, AND Crew Dragon!
Plus she’s been a great advocate for space going all the way back to the days of The Colbert… pic.twitter.com/iiahflxn8S
— Sawyer R. (@thenasaman) January 20, 2026
As news of her retirement broke, netizens started pouring in with comments, with one user writing on X, “In addition, Suni is an amazing & exemplary role model & person. She’s a great person to work with, having done so on a number of assignments including EVAs and Starliner. She’s also the friendly neighbor next door that will gladly help you out. Retirement well earned. BZ, Suni!”
Another added, “A true pioneer, she will no doubt find new purpose in the next phase of her life. Her story emortilised in the history books.” A third user chimed in, “i heard she wanted the Starliner mission because it was challenging, she didn’t want an autonomous rocket..she wanted something she needed to pilot. i completely admire her talent & bravery.”
Sunita Williams’ retirement marks a significant chapter in the history of space exploration because of the contributions she made over the years. As the comments under her retirement post pointed out, she will forever be remembered for her work, and it is about time she gets a well-deserved break.
