NASA astronaut who was stuck on space station for months retires within a year of returning
‘Trailblazing’ NASA astronaut retires after she became stuck on space station for months
- Veteran NASA astronaut Suni Williams has retired from the US space agency, effective at the end of December, following a mission where she and a crewmate were stranded for months on the International Space Station.
- Williams and Butch Wilmore were the first to fly Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule in 2024, on a mission intended to last a week but which extended to over nine months due to technical issues with the spacecraft.
- The pair eventually returned to Earth last March aboard a SpaceX craft, with Boeing's next Starliner mission planned to carry cargo to the space station to ensure all issues are resolved before transporting people again.
- During her more than 27 years at NASA, the 60-year-old former Navy captain logged 608 days in space across three missions and holds the record for the most spacewalking time by a woman, with 62 hours.
- NASA administrator Jared Isaacman praised Williams as 'a trailblazer in human spaceflight,' while Williams and Wilmore stated they felt 'nowhere near' stranded during their extended stay, expressing trust in Donald Trump and Elon Musk.