Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko Becomes First Human to Spend 1,000 Days in Space

Tags: International News

On June 3, 2024, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko was announced by Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, as the first person to spend a total of 1,000 days in space.

An Overview of the News

• Kononenko's record was reached during his ongoing mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which began on September 15, 2023.

Mission Details

• Total Time in Space: By the end of his current mission on September 23, 2024, Kononenko will have spent a total of 1,110 days in orbit.

• Multiple Missions: Kononenko accumulated his time in space over five separate missions to the ISS. His first mission was Expedition 17, which launched in April 2008.

Previous Records

• In February 2024, Kononenko broke the previous record of 878 days in space set by his colleague, Gennady Padalka.

About The International Space Station (ISS)

• It was commissioned in 1998 and has been fully operational since 2011.

• The first astronauts were sent to the ISS in 2000.

• It is operated by 16 countries, led by NASA, including America, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and 11 European countries.

• The ISS is the most complex international scientific and engineering project and the largest manned spaceflight structure.

• It orbits Earth at an average altitude of 400 kilometers, completing an orbit every 90 minutes at a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per hour.

• The ISS appears as a bright moving light in the night sky, similar to the planet Venus.

Russia

• Capital and largest city - Moscow

• Official and national language - Russian

• President - Vladimir Putin

• Prime Minister - Mikhail Mishustin