Tue Dec 31 15:13:42 UTC 2024: ## Astronaut Williams Rings in New Year with 16 Sunrises and Sunsets from Space Station
**Houston, TX** – Astronaut Sunita Williams will enjoy a truly unique New Year’s Eve. From her vantage point aboard the International Space Station (ISS), she and the Expedition 72 crew will witness a spectacular 16 sunrises and sunsets as the orbiting laboratory circles the Earth. The ISS Twitter account shared the news, stating, “As 2024 comes to a close today, the Exp 72 crew will see 16 sunrises and sunsets while soaring into the New Year.”
Williams, who launched to the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner with astronaut Barry Wilmore, initially planned a nine-day mission. However, her return has been repeatedly delayed, resulting in both a Christmas and now a New Year’s celebration in space. In a NASA video, Williams described the experience as “a great time up here,” showing her and her crewmates celebrating the holidays with Santa hats, sent via a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
The latest delay pushes Williams and Wilmore’s return to March 2025, following a postponement from February due to scheduling conflicts with the SpaceX Crew-10 mission, whose crew will replace them. The arrival of Crew-9 in late September left two empty seats on the ISS, intended to be occupied by the returning astronauts. The original plan was for all four astronauts to return together in February.
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