The AP reports that Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has “broken the world record for the most cumulative time spent in space, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos reported Sunday.” According to the AP, Kononenko has “now spent more than 878 days and 12 hours in space, surpassing fellow Russian Gennady Padalka, who set the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds in 2015.” By the end of his current expedition, Kononenko is “expected to become the first person to accumulate 1,000 days in space.”
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Tag: In Space
NASA’s Lucy Probe to Fire Engines in Space for First Time
SPACE reports that NASA’s asteroid-hopping Lucy mission “is finally getting fired up in space for its trip to the never-before-explored Trojan asteroids, which follow Jupiter as it orbits the sun.” On Wednesday (Jan. 31), the Lucy spacecraft “will fire its main engines off-Earth for the first time since its launch in Aug. 2021.” The firing of Lucy’s main engines “will see the spacecraft burn through around half of its onboard fuel.” This will be “followed by a second, larger maneuver, which NASA says is currently set for Saturday (Feb. 3).” The aim “of these two early 2024 operations is to change Lucy’s velocity by around 2,000 miles per hour (3,217 kilometers per hour).”
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NASA’s Rubio Discusses Record Time in Space
Aviation Week reports that as his U.S. record-setting mission “aboard the International Space Station (ISS) draws to a close, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio says he knows his body will take months to fully readapt to gravity and its impacts on his bones, muscles and vestibular system.”
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New Rockets Set to Launch in 2023
NBC News reported that “a slate of new rockets look to make their debut” in 2023 and that “few rockets attract the kind of curiosity and awe that SpaceX’s behemoth Starship does.” Standing at a “towering 394 feet (with a 164-foot-tall spacecraft also known as Starship attached), the fully stacked launch vehicle is taller than NASA’s retired Saturn V rocket that was used during the Apollo moon program, as well as the agency’s new Space Launch System.” The next-generation rocket “is designed for missions to the moon and eventually Mars.” The huge booster “will play an important role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon and establish bases on the lunar surface.” If successful, the rocket “will not only pave the way for more regular flights to the moon but will also lower the cost of such journeys.” Laura Forczyk, executive director of Astralytical, an Atlanta space consulting firm, said, “Starship has the opportunity to really revolutionize the way that we do space transportation, so it’s a big deal.” Starship is expected “to launch on its first uncrewed orbital flight this year, though no specific date has been announced by SpaceX.” Last month, the company “said it had completed a ‘wet dress rehearsal,’ which involved fully fueling the rocket with 10 million pounds of propellant, as would be done prior to liftoff.”
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Investing in Space in 2023
In an analysis of the coming year in space investments on the CNBC website, Michael Sheetz writes that after ending “on a bit of a downer (‘A year to forget for space stocks’), I’m entering 2023 with what feels like contrarian optimism.” The space industry “is chock full of opportunities and milestones to look forward to over the next twelve months, as the market for 21st century space companies continues to evolve and mature.” Sheetz lists the top three space businesses he’s watching out for – Project Kuiper, Starship, and “SPACs” – as a group, citing the industry’s potential for investment breakout across the board.
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Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann to be First Native American Woman in Space
CBS News reports that NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann is set to become the first Native American woman to travel to space when “NASA launches its next crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon this fall.” Liftoff is targeted for September 29. Mann “will be joined on the Crew-5 mission by NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.”
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