Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko is poised to set a new world record on Sunday for the longest cumulative time spent in space, nearing an impressive 2.5 years, as reported by Russian news agencies. Anticipated to surpass his compatriot Gennady Padalka’s record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds over five space flights, Kononenko’s achievement is expected at 11:30:08 Moscow time.
As the commander of the Russian space state agency Roscosmos cosmonaut corps, Kononenko is on his fifth space mission, scheduled to conclude on September 23. Upon completion, he will have accumulated a total of 1,110 days in space. Kononenko, who began his cosmonaut training at the age of 34 as part of the International Space Station (ISS) program, made his inaugural space flight on April 8, 2008, as part of the ISS’s 17th main expedition, returning to Earth on October 24, 2008, according to Interfax news agency.
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Despite strained relations between the United States and Russia in various areas, the ISS remains a notable collaborative project. In December, Roscosmos announced an extension of the cross-flight program with NASA to the ISS until 2025. This extension contrasts with the breakdown of relations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, leading to Washington’s response of sending arms to Kyiv and imposing successive rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
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