Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko became the first person in human history to spend a thousand days in space.
The Russian State Space Corporation, “Ros cosmos”, announced that Kononenko set his record at 00:00:20 on June 5, 2024, Moscow time.
Kononenko began his fifth space journey on September 15, 2023, aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft, accompanied by Russian astronauts Nikolai Chub and American Laural O’Hara.
O’Hara returned to Earth last April 6 with Russian Oleg Novitsky and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya.
Kononenko is preparing to return to Earth next September 23, accompanied by Nikolai Chub and American Tracy Dyson.
After completing his fifth flight, the total period he spent in space will reach 1,110 days, thus achieving a new record.
Kononenko surpassed the previous record set by Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka, which reached 878 days until last February 4.
Kononenko began his career in space with his first flights in 2008, followed by flights in the years 2011-2012, 2015, and 2018-2019, where he led the Russian astronaut team since 2016, becoming one of the most prominent astronauts in the world.
Putin: Liberation of “Marinka” would enable Russian troops to be able to operate further in Ukraine