A 38-year-old Italian astronaut has broken the record for the most time in space on a single mission by a woman. And she still has five more days until she is scheduled to return home to Earth.
Samantha Cristoforetti set the record on Saturday (June 6) at 11:04 a.m. EDT (1504 GMT), surpassing the 194 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes logged by NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams onboard the International Space Station in June 2007. If Cristoforetti's flight home on Thursday (June 11) proceeds as planned, she will have been in space for 199 days, 16 hours and 42 minutes in total — give or take a few minutes based on when her Soyuz spacecraft lands on the steppe of Kazakhstan.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Christina Koch has a(n out-of-this) world record in her future.
NASA on Wednesday (April 17) said that Koch, who launched to the International Space Station on March 14 for an expected six-month mission, will not return to Earth until Feb. 6, 2020. After 328 days in orbit, Koch will have logged the single longest spaceflight by a woman.
...Koch's record for a single mission by a woman will surpass the 288 days logged by astronaut Peggy Whitson in September 2017.
328KF Member
Posts: 1238 From: Registered: Apr 2008
posted 04-17-2019 03:29 PM
It's difficult to find a timeline in publicly available material, but this seems similar to the Kelly/Kornienko year-long mission decision. Is Koch's extension being done to accommodate Roscosmos' sale of a Soyuz seat to another party?
I seem to recall that the former decision was made in part because of the sale of a seat to Sarah Brightman. In that case, it was made prior to launch. Now, the ISS partners have decided this after launch, with Koch's return seat now sold to a UAE participant. I think if the real intent was to conduct a long-term spaceflight study, this would have been decided, and hyped by NASA and the media, long before Koch's mission began.
David C Member
Posts: 1025 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 04-17-2019 04:05 PM
I think it's a real shame she's not doing the extra 37 days. Kind of like running 25 miles of a marathon. Why would you? Can't they expand the launch schedule?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-17-2019 04:50 PM
Soyuz landing dates are a result of a number of different factors, including the lifespan of the spacecraft on orbit (about 200 days) and the desired lighting conditions in Kazakhstan. The activities on the space station also need to be taken into consideration, as other work slows in preparation for a departure.
quote:Originally posted by 328KF: Is Koch's extension being done to accommodate Roscosmos' sale of a Soyuz seat to another party?
In part, yes. It is also a result of the Soyuz MS-10 launch abort; if Alexsey Ovchinin and Nick Hague had reached the space station as originally scheduled, then there may not have been an opportunity to extend Koch's mission.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 08-26-2019 02:18 PM
NASA video release
On August 26, 2019, NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch reached the halfway point in her record-breaking long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station.
On her first spaceflight, Koch has logged 164 days in space thus far, a milestone coinciding with Women's Equality Day. Before returning to Earth, she will have lived and worked for 328 days aboard the station, conducting hundreds of experiments that help pave the way for long-duration Artemis missions to the moon and Mars, as well as improve life on Earth.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
A NASA astronaut is set to break a record for time spent in space, and she still has six weeks to go before she returns to Earth.
Christina Koch will surpass the record for the single longest space mission by a woman as previously established by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2017. The 40-year-old Expedition 61 flight engineer will exceed Whitson's 289 days, 5 hours and 1 minute on Saturday (Dec. 28) at 6:16 p.m. CST (0016 GMT on Dec. 29).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-28-2019 10:23 AM
NASA video
NASA astronaut Christina Koch now has a new place in the record book, for the longest single spaceflight ever by a female astronaut or cosmonaut: 228 days as of December 28, and still counting. Take a look as the previous record-holder, former astronaut Peggy Whitson, sends her congratulations!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-28-2019 10:24 AM
NASA video
NASA astronaut Christina Koch now has a new place in the record book, for the longest single spaceflight ever by a female astronaut or cosmonaut: 228 days as of December 28, and still counting. She's getting congratulations from Naomi Ackie and Kelly Marie Tran, two women who went to space "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!"
SPACEFACTS Member
Posts: 305 From: Germany Registered: Aug 2006
posted 12-29-2019 12:51 AM
Peggy Whitson was with Soyuz MS-03 289 days 5 hours 1 minute and 29 seconds in space.
1202 Alarm Member
Posts: 438 From: Switzerland & France Registered: Nov 2003
posted 12-29-2019 04:25 AM
Yes, and it's what Robert wrote in his first post yesterday... then made the '228 days' mistake in the two others. He'll edit this as soon as he wakes up I'm sure.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-29-2019 09:37 AM
The citation, including "228 days," is a quote from NASA's video captions copied from YouTube. It is apparently a typo based on the 288 days used on the agency's website and in its social media posts.
Joachim is correct, the record was 289 days (5 hours and 1 minute).
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3134 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 12-31-2019 08:17 PM
quote:Originally posted by David C: I think it's a real shame she's not doing the extra 37 days.
Don't worry! Apparently, these days 340 days count as "a year" in space, so why not 328? Call it a year in space and no one will notice.
David C Member
Posts: 1025 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 01-01-2020 12:29 PM
Well yes, there is that option again.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-01-2020 12:48 PM
This should be able to go unsaid, but there is a difference between time keeping for a record claim and colloquial accounting.
No one has claimed that the first "yearlong" mission aboard the International Space Station was 365 days long. But March 2015 to March 2016 can validly be described as the span of a year. It is a colloquial label.
Back on subject, Christina Koch launched in March 2019 and will land in February 2020, a month shy of the span of a year. That aside, the discussion here is about a record, which requires exact figures.
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3134 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 01-02-2020 12:54 PM
quote:Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: March 2015 to March 2016 can validly be described as the span of a year. It is a colloquial label.
You should have been a lawyer, Robert. Your argument breaks down for a mission launching in early March and returning in late February which is longer than Scott Kelly's flight but still short of a year.
As I have stated before, this in no way detracts from the achievements of his flight. The fault lies with those who attach a label to it which is incorrect, because if you label a flight of less than 365 days as "a year" then where do you draw the line?
issman1 Member
Posts: 1044 From: UK Registered: Apr 2005
posted 01-02-2020 01:20 PM
A few months ago there was talk of NASA wanting to fly an 18 month mission for one of its astronauts or an American medical doctor chosen as a space flight participant, not unlike a shuttle-era payload specialist.
Question: NASA has Christina on board, so why not take full advantage collecting data points of a 1+ year stay in microgravity?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-09-2020 10:19 AM
From NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, via Twitter:
Today, Christina Koch reaches a new milestone: it's been 300 days (and still counting) since her launch to the space station! Extended missions like Christina's will help scientists gather data about the effects of long-duration human spaceflight.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-07-2020 10:46 AM
Christina Koch is now the new record holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days, 13 hours and 58 minutes.
She arrived back in Houston today. From Johnson Space Center via Twitter:
Welcome home, Christina Koch!
This morning, family, friends and coworkers were reunited with the astronaut, who landed in Kazakhstan on February 6 after a record-breaking 328-day mission to the space station. Congrats Christina!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43252 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Six days after returning from her record-setting first space mission, NASA astronaut Christina Koch said that it took longer to adjust to life in orbit than it did to transition to being back on Earth.
Koch, who spent 328 days on the International Space Station setting a record for the longest single mission by a woman, said on Wednesday (Feb. 12) that she felt at home on board the orbiting laboratory just about a third of the way into her 11-month expedition.
posted 06-06-2015 10:32 AM
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