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NASA Astronaut Sets New Female Spaceflight Record

NASA's Christina Koch works on a science experiment installed on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA
NASA's Christina Koch works on a science experiment installed on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA

A NASA astronaut has set a new spaceflight record -- breaking the streak for longest single spaceflight by a woman. 

NASA astronaut Christina Koch has surpassed the 288 day mark on board the International Space Station breaking the female endurance record set in 2017 by Peggy Whitson.

Koch launched to the station back in March on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Space Station missions are typically 6 months, but NASA extended Koch’s stay on the station.

She’s no stranger to spaceflight milestones. Koch, along with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir conducted the first all-female spacewalk in October.

When Koch returns back to Earth in February, she will have spent close to 328 days in space -- about two weeks shy of astronaut Mark Kelly, who holds the U.S. spaceflight endurance record. NASA studied the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body during his near year-long mission.

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Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.