TNI Bureau: Veteran NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who spent months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, has retired from NASA, the agency announced. Her retirement took effect at the end of December last year.

Williams returned to Earth in March 2025 after more than eight months in space, alongside fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore. Their mission, originally planned for about a week, was extended to over nine months because of problems with the Starliner spacecraft.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called her “a trailblazer in human spaceflight” and congratulated her on her retirement.

Born on September 19, 1965, Williams joined NASA in 1998 after a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, where she served as a test pilot and Navy captain. Over more than 27 years at NASA, she spent 608 days in space across three missions.

She also set a record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a woman, logging 62 hours over nine spacewalks. Williams holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Florida Institute of Technology and has flown more than 3,000 hours in over 30 different aircraft.