The X post from 

@PopBase
(dated January 21, 2026) announced that NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams is retiring from the agency after a 27-year career. The post included a smiling photo of her in a spacesuit and quickly went viral (over 9 million views, 111k+ likes).Key details from the story:
  • Williams officially retired effective December 27, 2025 (NASA announced it publicly around January 20, 2026).
  • She spent a total of 608 days in space across three missions — the second-highest cumulative time for any NASA astronaut.
  • Her most recent (and final) mission became famous worldwide: In June 2024, she and Butch Wilmore launched on Boeing's Starliner for what was supposed to be an ~8-day test flight to the ISS. Due to technical problems with the spacecraft (helium leaks, thruster issues), NASA deemed Starliner unsafe for return. The pair stayed on the ISS for 286 days (about 9 months), eventually returning safely to Earth on March 18, 2025, via a SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule (splashdown off Florida).
  • During that extended stay, she served as part of Expedition crews, completed two spacewalks, and added to her impressive record (she already held the women's record for most spacewalk time at 62+ hours).
Many reactions on X were humorous or empathetic, like:
  • "If I was stranded in space for 9 months it wouldn’t take me this long to retire 😭"
  • "I don’t blame her at all. Nine months stranded in space is insane. I’m retiring immediately..."
Others turned political (blaming the previous administration for the delay) or included unfortunate/offensive comments.Overall, it's seen as a well-deserved retirement after an extraordinary (and unexpectedly long) career. She described space as her "absolute favorite place," but this mission was clearly enough for one final chapter. Congratulations to her on an amazing legacy! 🚀