Russian cosmonaut becomes first person to spend 1,000 days in space
FILE-Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, a member of the International Space Station (ISS) expedition 58/59, gestures as he boards the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft shortly before the launch at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in 2018. (Photo by SHAMIL
A Russian cosmonaut has become the first person to spend 1,000 days in space.
Oleg Kononenko set the space-time record on Tuesday while making five trips to the International Space Station going back to 2008.
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Kononenko's recent journey to the ISS started Sept. 15, 2023, when he launched beside NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Nikolai Chub.
According to the Associated Press, Kononenko set a space-time record in February 2024, when he eclipsed the total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds set by Russian Gennady Padalka in 2015.
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Kononenko’s mission is slated to end on Sept. 23, 2024, and if that happens, the cosmonaut will have spent 1,110 days in orbit.
The AP noted that the International Space Station is one of the few areas in which the United States and Russia still cooperate closely after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.