One of NASA's most decorated astronauts has called it a career.
Suni Williams retired from the agency on Dec. 27, 2025 after 27 years of service. During her NASA career, she spent 608 total days off Earth — the second-most in American history, behind Peggy Whitson's 695 — and ran the first-ever marathon in space.
"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," Isaacman added. "Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, and thank you for your service to NASA and our nation."
Williams joined NASA in 1998, part of an astronaut class dubbed "The Penguins." She flew to space for the first time in December 2006, living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until late April of 2007.
In the home stretch of that mission, she competed in the Boston Marathon from orbit, running on a treadmill as her crewmates cheered her on. Williams finished the 26.2-mile run in four hours and 24 minutes.
She flew two more long-duration missions to the ISS, launching to the station in July 2012 and then again in June 2024. That latter flight was the first crewed mission of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which did not go according to plan.
Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore were supposed to spend just 10 days or so in space. But Starliner experienced thruster problems on the way to the ISS, and NASA decided to extend the duo's mission while it worked out how to handle the situation.
The agency eventually decided to bring Starliner down uncrewed, which happened without incident in September 2024. Williams and Wilmore stayed aboard the ISS until March 2025, when they returned to Earth on the downward leg of SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut mission.
Williams and Wilmore (who retired in August 2025) spent 286 days in space on that mission, which puts them in a tie for sixth place for longest single spaceflight by an American. (Frank Rubio holds that record, at 371 days.)
During her NASA career, Williams conducted nine spacewalks, which lasted a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes. That's a record for most spacewalking time by a woman, and it's the fourth-most overall.
Williams, 60, is from Needham, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor's degree in physical science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. She's also a retired U.S. Navy captain and pilot who has logged more than 4,000 flight hours in 40 different aircraft.
But she was probably always destined to become an astronaut.
"Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be. It's been an incredible honor to have served in the Astronaut Office and have had the opportunity to fly in space three times," Williams said in the same statement.
"I had an amazing 27-year career at NASA, and that is mainly because of all the wonderful love and support I've received from my colleagues," she added. "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. I am super excited for NASA and its partner agencies as we take these next steps, and I can't wait to watch the agency make history."
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
