Suni Williams, the NASA astronaut who was caught on the house station for months, retires inside a 12 months of returning

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Suni Williams – one in all two astronauts caught for months on the International Space Station – has retired.

The house company introduced the information Tuesday, saying her retirement took impact on the finish of December.

Williams’ crewmate on Boeing’s ill-fated capsule check flight, Butch Wilmore, left NASA final summer time.

The pair launched to the house station in 2024, the primary individuals to fly Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule. Their mission ought to have lasted only a week, however stretched to greater than 9 months due to Starliner hassle. In the tip, they caught a journey residence final March with SpaceX.

Boeing’s subsequent Starliner mission will carry cargo – not individuals – to the house station. NASA needs to ensure the entire capsule’s thruster and different points are solved earlier than placing anybody on board. The trial run will happen later this 12 months.

Williams, 60, a former Navy captain, spent greater than 27 years at NASA, logging 608 days in house over three station missions. She additionally set a document for essentially the most spacewalking time by a lady: 62 hours throughout 9 excursions.

NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman known as her “a trailblazer in human spaceflight.”

“Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement,” he added in a press release.