'Stuck in space' Nasa astronaut Suni Williams retires

One of the two Nasa astronauts who came back to Earth last year after being 'stuck' in space, has confirmed her retirement.

Suni Williams' announcement comes ten months after her return from the International Space Station (ISS).

Over her 27-year career at the US space agency, Williams spent more than 600 days in space and took part in nine spacewalks totalling 62 hours - the most by any woman in history.

In a statement, Nasa paid tribute to Ms Williams and thanked her for her long service.

During her time at Nasa, Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting a number of human spaceflight records throughout her career.

She spent a total of 608 days in space during her different missions - the second most by a Nasa astronaut.

Williams ranks sixth on the list of longest single spaceflights by an American and she was also the first person to run a marathon in space.

Her last mission was taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft with fellow Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore in 2024.

However, the capsule suffered technical problems, resulting in the pair staying in space for a much longer time than planned.

After Ms Williams' retirement was announced, Nasa boss Jared Isaacman, thanked her for her dedication to space exploration, calling her "a trailblazer in human spaceflight."

"Her extraordinary achievements will continue to inspire generations to dream big and push the boundaries of what's possible," he said.

In a statement, Williams called her time with Nasa "an incredible honour."

She explained: "Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favourite place to be.

"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," Williams added.

"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."

Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore set off from Florida to the International Space Station on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on 5 June 2024.

As part of their mission, they were only meant to stay in space for around a week.

However, their craft developed a number of issues including leaks - meaning they were unable to head back as planned.

Their return trip was delayed a number of times and in the end, the pair spent 286 days in space.

In March 2025, they finally splashed back down to Earth in a Space X dragon capsule off the coast of Florida.