Next stop Earth for NASA’s space champ with 665 days aloft
NASA space champ Peggy Whitson is on her way back to Earth to wrap up a record-breaking flight.
Whitson left the International Space Station on Saturday, along with another American and a Russian. Their Soyuz capsule is due to land in Kazakhstan late Saturday, U. S. time.
Altogether, Whitson has spent 665 days off the planet, more than any other American — also more than any other woman. This trip — her third — lasted 288 days.
She became the world’s oldest spacewoman, at age 57, and the most experienced female spacewalker, with 10, following her launch last November.
Returning cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin has logged even more time in orbit: 673 days over five missions. Also headed home is Jack Fischer, with 136 days aloft. The men flew up in April.
