A Russian Astronaut Breaks the Record for '878 Days' Living in Space

According to Reuters, citing the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Russian astronaut Oleg Kononenko set a new world record in space travel on Sunday, February 4. With this record, he surpassed his compatriot Gennady Padalka, who spent over 878 days in Earth orbit. According to the Russian space agency, Kononenko set this record at 8:30 AM GMT and is expected to have spent a total of 1,000 days in space by June 5, 2024, and will reach 1,110 days by October. In an interview from the International Space Station, which orbits 423 kilometers above the Earth, he told TASS: 'I travel to space because I am interested in it, not for breaking records.' He also stated that he not only takes pride in this achievement but is more proud that a Russian astronaut still holds the record for the total time humans have spent in space. The 59-year-old Kononenko broke Padalka's record, who lived in the International Space Station for a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds. The former Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth orbit in 1957 during the early years of the space race with the United States, and then Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel to space in 1961. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's space program faced severe budget shortages and corruption. Reuters reported that officials and space analysts said that under President Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have repeatedly promised to change the downward trend of Russia's space programs, but serious problems remain. Kononenko says he regularly exercises to counteract the physical effects of weightlessness, but each time he returns to Earth and sees that children have grown up without their fathers after hundreds of days, he realizes how much life on Earth he has missed. However, he is happy that now astronauts can maintain constant communication with their relatives through video calls and messaging apps. The International Space Station is one of the few international projects where the United States and Russia still cooperate closely. Russia has stated that joint flights with NASA to the International Space Station have been extended until 2025. However, relations in other areas between the two countries have soured following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Washington's response by sending weapons to Kyiv and imposing successive rounds of sanctions against Moscow. Ukraine targeted an oil refinery in 'Volgograd' Russia with a drone attack; two French rescuers were killed in Russia's attack on Ukraine; Finland joined NATO's joint operations; Russia extended the detention of an American journalist from Radio Free Europe by two more months; Hungary joined the European Union: Ukraine will receive $54 billion in financial aid; the International Court of Justice: Russia has violated the UN anti-terrorism treaty.