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Veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has actually gone back to Earth after a record-breaking year-long stay onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The 60-year-old spaceman has actually now invested 1,111 non-consecutive days in orbit, which is longer than any other astronaut in history– and will likely stay unbeaten for several years.

Kononenko, who turned 60 in June, went back to Earth inside Russia’s Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft on Monday (Sept. 23), along with fellow cosmonaut Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, according to Live Science’s sibling website Space.comThe trio touched down in the steppe of Kazakhstan around 3.5 hours after undocking from the ISS.

The 2 cosmonauts, or Russian astronauts, had actually invested a record-breaking 374 constant days onboard the spaceport station, directly beating NASA astronaut Frank Rubio who accidentally finished a 371-day remain on the ISS in 2015 after his return craft was harmed. Dyson, on the other hand, returned after investing 184 days in area.

Kononeko initially climaxed for a lot of cumulative days in area in February, when he went beyond the 878-day haul of compatriot Gennady Padalka, who set the record in 2015. Kononeko has actually flown on 5 various objectives to the ISS considering that 2008, which is how the spaceflight veteran acquired his excellent overall.

“Thanks to all my crewmates for your friendship. It has been a great time and pleasure to work and spend time together here as a big family on board the International Space Station,” Kononenko stated as he was leaving the ISS “Right now I am leaving my second home.”

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Throughout his cumulative time in area, Kononenko has actually finished approximately 17,800 journeys around Earth and invested more than 44 hours in the vacuum of area throughout 7 various spacewalks.

To put these numbers into viewpoint, Kononeko is solitarily accountable for around 1.5% of the overall time invested in area by more than 600 individualsbecause the very first human area flight was achieved by Kononeko’s compatriot Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

One record that Kononenko has actually not beaten throughout his outstanding profession is the longest constant remain in area, which is held by Valeri Polyakov, who invested 437 days on Russia’s previous Mir spaceport station in between 1994 and 1995.

Throughout Kononeko’s newest check out, 14 various spacecraft got to the ISS, consisting of Boeing’s notorious Starliner rocketwhich just recently gone back to Earth without astronauts after suffering numerous helium leakages. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have actually been stranded in area as an outcome, and the latter has simply taken control of command of the ISS from Kononenko

It is uncertain whether Kononenko will make anymore journeys into area. He has not yet revealed his retirement however has actually formerly confessed that spaceflight is “becoming more complicated” which getting ready for objectives “has not become easier” gradually.

Even if he does retire quickly, his record will likely stand for a long time as the next 10 astronauts on the list of the majority of cumulative days in area are either non-active or dead.

The next active astronaut on the list is Russia’s Sergey Prokopyev, who has actually invested 567 non-consecutive days in area, however it is not likely that he will climax before Russia completely withdraws from the ISS by 2025Cosmonauts will likely check out China’s just recently finished Tiangong spaceport station in the future as part of the 2 nations’ joint objective to construct a base upon the moon by 2035

An American is not likely to break Knononeko’s record before the ISS is deorbited and crashes back to Earth in 2030mostly due to the fact that NASA does not typically permit its astronauts to remain in area as long as Russian cosmonauts.

For Kononenko, his record is a great accomplishment however has actually not been the prime inspiration for his long-term profession. “I fly into space to do my favorite thing, not to set records,” he stated in February after breaking the cumulative spaceflight record.

Harry is a U.K.-based senior personnel author at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to end up being a reporter. He covers a wide variety of subjects consisting of area expedition, planetary science, area weather condition, environment modification, animal habits, advancement and paleontology. His function on the upcoming solar optimum was shortlisted in the “top scoop” classification at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023.

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