Russian breaks world record for time spent in space

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Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko in June 2019. (Archive photo)

Associated Press

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has broken the world record for the most cumulative days spent in space, Russian space agency Roscosmos reported.

The 59-year-old has now spent more than 878 days and 12 hours in space, surpassing fellow Russian Gennady Padalka, who set the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds in 2015.

Mr. Kononenko has made five trips to the International Space Station (ISS), dating back to 2008.

Speaking to the news agency Russian TASS, the engineer said that each trip to the Station required careful preparation due to the Station's constant improvements, but that life as a cosmonaut was a childhood dream come true.

I fly in space to do what I love, not to set records. I have dreamed and aspired to become a cosmonaut since I was a child. This interest – the possibility of flying in space, living and working in orbit – motivates me to continue flying.

A quote from Oleg Kononenko, Russian cosmonaut

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NASA predicts that the end of operations on the ISS will take place around the year 2030.< /p>

Mr. Kononenko's current journey to the ISS began on September 15, 2023, when he launched alongside NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and fellow astronaut Roscosmos, Nikolai Tchoub. At the end of this expedition, the cosmonaut should become the first person to accumulate 1000 days in space.

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The International Space Station is one of rare areas in which the United States and Russia still cooperate closely following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Roscosmos announced in December that its crossover flight program with NASA carrying astronauts to the SSI had been extended until 2025.