In a report by Russian news agencies, it was stated that Oleg Kononenko, a Russian cosmonaut, will soon set a new world record for the longest duration of space flights, with almost 2-1/2 years spent in space. It is anticipated that at 11:30:08 Moscow time (0830:08 GMT), the 59-year-old Kononenko will surpass the record previously held by his compatriot Gennady Padalka, who had amassed a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds over five space flights before retiring in 2017, according to the state news agency TASS.
The report also added that Kononenko, who currently serves as the commander of the Russian space state agency Roscosmos cosmonaut corps, is currently on his fifth space flight. Once the current expedition, slated to end on Sept. 23, is completed, Kononenko will have spent a total of 1,110 days in space.
According to the European Space Agency’s website, Kononenko started training as a member of the group of cosmonauts selected for the International Space Station (ISS) programme at the age of 34. His first space flight took place on April 8, 2008, as part of the 17th main expedition of the ISS, and he returned to Earth on Oct. 24, 2008, as per the Interfax news agency.
Despite tensions in other areas of US-Russian relations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the countries continue to cooperate closely within the ISS project. In December, Roscosmos announced that a joint spaceflight programme with NASA to the ISS had been extended until 2025.
The latest record-breaking mission of Oleg Kononenko demonstrates the importance of continued international cooperation in space exploration, despite political tensions on Earth.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
