NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has officially become the second astronaut in history to accumulate the most time spent in space, with a total of 608 days in orbit. While she surpasses many spaceflight veterans, she still trails behind Peggy Whitson, who holds the NASA record with 675 days.
Williams’ latest mission, initially planned as a brief stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), unexpectedly extended into a nine-month journey due to malfunctions in the spacecraft designed to bring her back to Earth. Launched alongside fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner, the mission was meant to be short-term. However, malfunctions, including issues with the thrusters and helium leaks, made it unsafe for Starliner to return them home.
By September 2024, NASA decided to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth without the crew, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded on the ISS. Despite the unexpected delay, the astronauts continued their work on scientific experiments and station maintenance. Eventually, NASA arranged for the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to bring them back.
The return journey began on March 18, 2025, with the undocking of the Crew Dragon from the ISS. The capsule deployed its parachute before splashing down in the ocean off the coast of Florida on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The journey home took 17 hours, with the astronauts travelling alongside NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Upon landing, a NASA team opened the hatch and assisted the astronauts onto mobility aids. Williams was seen waving and giving thumbs-up signs as she exited the capsule.
Though both astronauts are in good health, returning from such an extended space mission poses unique challenges. Astronauts often face muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and balance issues after prolonged exposure to microgravity. As a result, Williams and Wilmore were carried out on stretchers upon landing to ensure a safe transition back to Earth’s gravity.
Williams, however, has been preparing for this moment. Before departing the ISS, she wrote in an email to her NASA team, “Been working out for the past nine months. We feel strong and ready to tackle Earth’s gravity.”
Currently, Williams ranks second for the most cumulative time in space among NASA astronauts, trailing behind Peggy Whitson’s record of 675 days. Other notable astronauts in the ranking include Jeff Williams with 534 days, Mark Vande Hei with 523 days, and Scott Kelly with 520 days.
On the global scale, the longest continuous spaceflight is held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days aboard the Mir space station in the 1990s.
