Christina Koch sets record for longest space flight by a woman

NASA astronaut Christina Koch set the record Saturday for the longest single space flight by a woman at 289 days.

Koch, 40, surpassed the record set by Peggy Whitson, who spent 288 consecutive days in space in 2016-2017.

Koch arrived on the International Space Station in March and in April NASA announced she would remain aboard the ISS until February. If the mission ends on the scheduled Feb. 6, her time in space will stand at 328 days.

Koch's stay will be only be slightly shorter than the all-time NASA record for longest space flight. That was set in 2016 by Scott Kelly, who spent 340 days in space.

"It's a wonderful thing for science," she told CNN from aboard the International Space Station. "We see another aspect of how the human body is affected by microgravity for the long term, and that's really important for our future spaceflight plan going forward to the moon and to Mars."

Koch's flight is part of ongoing research to understand the human body responds to extended time in microgravity and how to protect against ill effects, in preparation for future missions to the moon and Mars.

In October, Koch and Jessica Meir successfully completed the first all-female spacewalk outside of the International Space Station.

Whitson, who retired in 2018 at 57, still holds the record for total number of days in space by an American in space - man or woman - with 665 days in three missions aboard the ISS.

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka holds the world record, having spent 879 days in space aboard five missions over 17 years until 2015.

Source: United Press International

Related Links
NASA
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Boeing spacecraft lands in New Mexico after mission cut short
Washington (AFP) Dec 22, 2019
Boeing's new Starliner unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, landing in the New Mexico desert in the United States six days early after a clock problem prevented a rendezvous with the International Space Station. Images broadcast by NASA showed the spacecraft touching down safely in the dark after a descent slowed by three large parachutes. The Starliner capsule was launched Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but shortly after separating from its Atlas V launch rocket, its thrusters ... read more