|
|
List of spaceflight records |
By
Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records
This is a list of spaceflight records. Most of these records relate to human spaceflights, but some unmanned and animal records are listed as well.
The first space rendezvous was accomplished by Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 in 1965
First independent suborbital and orbital human spaceflight by country
Country |
Mission |
Crew |
Spacecraft |
Launch vehicle |
Date |
Type |
USSR |
Vostok 1 |
Yuri Gagarin |
Vostok 3KA |
Vostok-K |
12 April 1961 |
Orbital |
USA |
Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) |
Alan Shepard |
Mercury Spacecraft No.7 |
Mercury-Redstone |
5 May 1961 |
Sub-orbital |
USA |
Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) |
John Glenn |
Mercury Spacecraft No.13 |
Atlas LV-3B |
20 February 1962 |
Orbital |
China |
Shenzhou 5 |
Yang Liwei |
Shenzhou spacecraft |
Long March 2F |
15 October 2003 |
Orbital |
Human spaceflight firsts
First |
Person(s) |
Mission |
Country |
Date |
- Person to reach space
- Person in orbit
- Person to consume food in space
|
Yuri Gagarin |
Vostok 1 |
USSR |
12 April 1961 |
- Person to make suborbital flight
- Person to land in a spacecraft after spaceflight (thus the first complete human spaceflight by FAI definitions)
- Person to land in water (splashdown)
- Person to pilot a craft in space
|
Alan Shepard |
Freedom 7 |
USA |
5 May 1961 |
- Person in space for over 24 hours
- Multiple orbits during a spaceflight
|
Gherman Titov |
Vostok 2 |
USSR |
6 August 1961 –
7 August 1961 |
Person to land in a spacecraft after orbital flight |
John Glenn |
Friendship 7 |
USA |
20 February 1962 |
- Group flight
- Adjacent orbits
- Spacecraft-to-spacecraft communications
|
Andrian Nikolayev
Pavel Popovich |
Vostok 3
Vostok 4 |
USSR |
12 August 1962 –
15 August 1962 |
- Woman in space
- Civilian in space
|
Valentina Tereshkova |
Vostok 6 |
USSR |
16 June 1963 –
19 June 1963 |
Spaceflight (suborbital) by winged spacecraft |
Joe Walker |
X-15 Flight 90 |
USA |
19 July 1963 |
Person to enter space twice (suborbital flights above 100 kilometres (62 mi)) |
Joe Walker |
X-15 Flights 90 and 91 |
USA |
22 August 1963 |
- Three-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft
- Persons to land in a spacecraft on hard ground
- Manned spaceflight without pressurized spacesuits
|
Vladimir Komarov
Konstantin Feoktistov
Boris Yegorov |
Voskhod 1 |
USSR |
12 October 1964 –
13 October 1964 |
Spacewalk
|
Alexei Leonov |
Voskhod 2 |
USSR |
18 March 1965 |
Orbital maneuvers (change orbit) |
Gus Grissom, John W. Young |
Gemini 3 |
USA |
23 March 1965 |
Person to fly two orbital spaceflights |
Gordon Cooper |
Faith 7
Gemini 5 |
USA |
15 May 1963 –
16 May 1963
21 August 1965 –
29 August 1965 |
Persons to spend one week in space |
Gordon Cooper
Pete Conrad |
Gemini 5 |
USA |
21 August 1965 –
29 August 1965 |
- Space rendezvous (orbital maneuver and station-keeping)
- Four people in space at the same time
|
Frank Borman, Jim Lovell
Walter Schirra, Thomas Stafford |
Gemini 7
Gemini 6A |
USA |
15 Dec. 1965 –
16 Dec. 1965 |
Space docking
|
Neil Armstrong
David Scott |
Gemini 8 and Agena |
USA |
16 March 1966 |
Multiple rendezvous |
John W. Young
Michael Collins |
Gemini 10 with Agena 10 and Agena 8 |
USA |
19 July 1966
20 July 1966 |
Spaceflight fatality (during landing) |
Vladimir Komarov |
Soyuz 1 |
USSR |
23 April 1967 –
24 April 1967 |
Person to complete three spaceflights |
Walter Schirra |
Mercury - Atlas 8
Gemini 6A
Apollo 7 |
USA |
22 October 1968 |
- Persons to leave low Earth orbit (LEO)
- Persons to enter lunar orbit
- Persons to enter the gravitational influence of another celestial body
|
Frank Borman
Jim Lovell
Bill Anders |
Apollo 8 |
USA |
24 Dec. 1968 –
25 Dec. 1968 |
- Space docking of two manned spacecraft
- Dual spacewalk
- Сrew transfer (Khrunov, Yeliseyev)
|
Vladimir Shatalov
Boris Volynov
Aleksei Yeliseyev
Yevgeny Khrunov |
Soyuz 4
Soyuz 5 |
USSR |
16 January 1969 |
Solo flight around the Moon |
John Young |
Apollo 10 |
USA |
22 May 1969 |
- Moon landing
- Planetary surface EVA
|
Neil Armstrong
Buzz Aldrin |
Apollo 11 |
USA |
20 July 1969 |
Five people in space at the same time |
Georgi Shonin, Valeri Kubasov
Anatoly Filipchenko, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor Gorbatko |
Soyuz 6
Soyuz 7 |
USSR |
12 October 1969 –
13 October 1969 |
- Triple spaceflight
- Seven people in space at the same time
|
Shonin, Kubasov
Filipchenko, Volkov, Gorbatko
Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksei Yeliseyev |
Soyuz 6
Soyuz 7
Soyuz 8 |
USSR |
13 October 1969 –
16 October 1969 |
Person to complete four spaceflights |
James A. Lovell |
Gemini 7
Gemini 12
Apollo 8
Apollo 13 |
USA |
17 April 1970 |
- Person to fly two lunar flights
- Person to complete two flights beyond low Earth orbit
|
James A. Lovell |
Apollo 8
Apollo 13 |
USA |
11 April 1970 –
17 April 1970 |
- Persons to fly an actual free-return trajectory around a celestial body
|
James A. Lovell
Jack Swigert
Fred Haise |
Apollo 13 |
USA |
11 April 1970 –
17 April 1970 |
- People to spend two weeks in space
- Night launch
|
Andrian Nikolayev
Vitali Seva-styanov |
Soyuz 9 |
USSR |
1 June 1970 –
19 June 1970 |
People to EVA out of sight of their spacecraft |
Alan Shepard
Edgar Mitchell |
Apollo 14 |
USA |
6 February 1971 |
- Docking with space station (soft dock)
- Night landing
|
Vladimir Shatalov
Aleksei Yeliseyev
Nikolai Rukavish- nikov |
Soyuz 10
Salyut 1 |
USSR |
22 April 1971 –
24 April 1971 |
Manned space station
|
Georgi Dobrovolski
Viktor Patsayev
Vladislav Volkov |
Soyuz 11
Salyut 1 |
USSR |
7 June 1971 –
29 June 1971 |
In-space fatalities |
Georgi Dobrovolski
Viktor Patsayev
Vladislav Volkov |
Soyuz 11 |
USSR |
29 June 1971 |
People to travel in a wheeled vehicle on a planetary body other than Earth
|
Dave Scott
Jim Irwin |
Apollo 15 |
USA |
31 July 1971–
2 August 1971 |
EVA outside low Earth orbit (trans-Earth trajectory) |
Al Worden |
Apollo 15 |
USA |
5 August 1971 |
Person to be in lunar orbit twice (during separate lunar expeditions) |
John W. Young |
Apollo 10
Apollo 16 |
USA |
16 April 1972 –
27 April 1972 |
People in orbit for four weeks |
Pete Conrad
Joseph Kerwin
Paul Weitz |
Skylab 2 |
USA |
25 May 1973 –
22 June 1973 |
People in orbit for eight weeks |
Alan Bean
Jack Lousma
Owen Garriott |
Skylab 3 |
USA |
28 July 1973 –
25 Sep. 1973 |
People in orbit for 12 weeks |
Gerald Carr
William Pogue
Edward Gibson |
Skylab 4 |
USA |
16 Nov. 1973 –
8 February 1974 |
- Spaceflight aborted during liftoff (at 145 kilometers (90 mi) altitude)
- Re-entry with 20g acceleration (emergency)
|
Vasily Lazarev, Oleg Makarov |
Soyuz 18a |
USSR |
5 April 1975 |
Crew to visit occupied space station |
Vladimir Dzhani- bekov, Oleg Makarov |
Soyuz 27 visits Salyut 6 EO-1crew |
USSR |
10 January 1978 –
16 January 1978 |
People in orbit 19 weeks
(4 months) |
Vladimir Kovalyonok, Aleksandr Ivanchenkov |
Salyut 6 EO-2, Soyuz 29 - Soyuz 31 |
USSR |
15 June 1978 –
2 Nov. 1978 |
People in orbit 26 weeks
(6 months) |
Leonid Popov, Valery Ryumin |
Salyut 6 EO-4, Soyuz 35 - Soyuz 37 |
USSR |
9 April 1980 –
11 October 1980 |
Spaceflight (orbital) by winged spacecraft |
John W. Young
Robert L. Crippen |
STS-1 |
USA |
12 April 1981 |
Person to fly four different types of spacecraft |
John W. Young |
Gemini
Apollo
Lunar Module
STS-1 |
USA |
12 April 1981 |
Person to complete five spaceflights |
John W. Young |
Gemini 3
Gemini 10
Apollo 10
Apollo 16
STS-1 |
USA |
14 April 1981 |
Four-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft |
Vance Brand
Robert F. Overmyer
Joseph P. Allen
William B. Lenoir |
STS-5 |
USA |
11 Nov. 1982 –
16 Nov. 1982 |
Five-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft |
Robert L. Crippen
Frederick H. Hauck
John M. Fabian
Sally K. Ride
Norman E. Thagard |
STS-7 |
USA |
18 June 1983 –
24 June 1983 |
Six-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft |
John W. Young, Brewster H. Shaw, Owen K. Garriott, Robert A. Parker, Byron K. Lichtenberg – USA
Ulf Merbold – Germany (European Space Agency) |
STS-9 |
USA
West Germany |
28 Nov. 1983 –
8 Dec. 1983 |
Person to complete six spaceflights |
John W. Young |
Gemini 3
Gemini 10
Apollo 10
Apollo 16
STS-1
STS-9 |
USA |
8 Dec. 1983 |
Untethered spacewalk
|
Bruce McCandless II |
STS-41-B |
USA |
7 February 1984 |
Eight people in space at the same time (no docking) |
Oleg Atkov, Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov – USSR
Vance D. Brand, Robert L. Gibson, Bruce McCandless II, Ronald McNair, Robert L. Stewart – USA |
Salyut 7 EO-3, Soyuz T-10, STS-41-B |
USSR
USA |
8 February 1984 –
11 February 1984 |
11 people in space at the same time (no docking) |
Oleg Atkov, Leonid D. Kizim, Yury Malyshev, Vladimir Solovyov, Gennady Strekalov – USSR
Robert L. Crippen, Terry J. Hart, George Nelson, Francis Scobee, James van Hoften – USA
Rakesh Sharma – India |
STS-41-C, Salyut 7 EO-3, Soyuz T-10-Soyuz T-11 |
USSR
USA
India |
6 April 1984 –
11 April 1984 |
People to complete four spacewalks during the same mission |
Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov |
Salyut 7 |
USSR |
26 April –
18 May 1984 |
Spacewalk by a woman |
Svetlana Savitskaya |
Soyuz T-12 |
USSR |
25 July 1984 |
People in orbit 33 weeks (7 months) |
Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, Oleg Atkov |
Salyut 7 EO-3, Soyuz T-10-Soyuz T-11 |
USSR |
8 February 1984 –
2 October 1984 |
Seven-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft
|
Robert L. Crippen, Jon A. McBride, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Sally K. Ride, David C. Leestma, Paul D. Scully-Power – USA
Marc Garneau – Canada |
STS-41-G |
USA
Canada |
5 October 1984 –
13 October 1984 |
Two women in space at the same time |
Kathryn D. Sullivan, Sally K. Ride |
STS-41-G |
USA |
5 October 1984 –
13 October 1984 |
Partial crew exchange at a space station |
Alexander Volkov, Vladimir Vasyutin replace Vladimir Dzhanibekov |
Soyuz T-14, Salyut 7 |
USSR |
17 Sep. 1985 –
26 Sep. 1985 |
Eight-person spaceflight in a single spacecraft
|
Henry W. Hartsfield, Steven R. Nagel, Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford – USA
Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid – West Germany
Wubbo Ockels – Netherlands (European Space Agency) |
STS-61-A |
USA
West Germany
Nether-lands |
30 October 1985 –
6 Nov. 1985 |
Fatalities during launch |
Francis «Dick» Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Ellison Onizuka
Judith Resnik
Ronald McNair
Sharon Christa McAuliffe
Gregory Jarvis |
STS-51-L |
USA |
28 January 1986 |
- Space station-to-space station flight
- Space station-to-space station return flight
- Expedition on two space stations
|
Leonid Kizim
Vladimir Solovyov |
Soyuz T-15 from Mir to Salyut 7 back to Mir |
USSR |
15 March 1986 –
16 July 1986 |
Complete crew exchange at a space station |
Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov replace Yuri Romanenko, Alexander Alexandrov |
Soyuz TM-4-Soyuz TM-2, Soyuz TM-3, at Mir |
USSR |
21 Dec. 1987 –
29 Dec. 1987 |
People in orbit 52 weeks (one year) |
Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov |
Mir EO-3, Soyuz TM-4 - Soyuz TM-6 |
USSR |
21 Dec. 1987 –
21 Dec. 1988 |
12 people in space at the same time (no docking) |
Shuttle: Vance Brand, Samuel Durrance, Guy S. Gardner, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, John M. Lounge, Ronald Parise, Robert A. Parker – USA
Mir: Gennady Manakov, Gennady Strekalov – Russia
Soyuz and Soyuz/Mir:
Musa Manarov, Viktor Afanasyev – Russia
Toyohiro Akiyama – Japan
|
STS-35, Mir EO-7, Soyuz TM-10 - Soyuz TM-11 |
USSR
USA
Japan |
2 Dec. 1990 –
10 Dec. 1990 |
Three women in space at the same time |
Millie Hughes-Fulford, Tamara E. Jernigan, M. Rhea Seddon |
STS-40 |
USA |
5 June 1991 –
14 June 1991 |
Three-person spacewalk
|
Pierre J. Thuot
Richard J. Hieb
Thomas D. Akers |
STS-49 |
USA |
13 May 1992 |
13 people in space at the same time (no docking) |
Shuttle: Steve Oswald, William Gregory, John Grunsfeld, Wendy Lawrence, Tammy Jernigan, Sam Durrance, Ron Parise – USA
Mir: Aleksandr Viktorenko, Yelena Kondakova, Valeriy Polyakov – Russia
Soyuz/Mir:
Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov –Russia
Norman E. Thagard – USA |
STS-67, Mir, Soyuz TM-20, Soyuz TM-21 |
USA
Russia |
14 March 1995 –
18 March 1995 |
Ten people in a single spacecraft (docking)
|
Robert L. Gibson, Charles J. Precourt, Ellen S. Baker, Bonnie J. Dunbar, Gregory J. Harbaugh Norman E. Thagard – USA
Anatoly Solovyev, Nikolai Budarin, Vladimir Dezhurov, Gennady Strekalov – Russia |
STS-71, Mir, Soyuz TM-21 |
USA
Russia |
29 June 1995 –
4 July 1995 |
Space tourist |
Dennis Tito |
Soyuz TM-32/31, ISS EP-1 |
USA
Russia |
April 28, 2001 –
May 6, 2001 |
Person to complete seven trips to space |
Jerry L. Ross |
STS-61B
STS-27
STS-37
STS-55
STS-74
STS-88
STS-110 |
USA |
19 April 2002 |
Privately funded human space flight (suborbital)
|
Mike Melvill |
Space Ship One flight 15P |
USA |
21 June 2004 |
13 people in a single spacecraft (docking)
|
Michael Barratt, Mark L. Polansky, Douglas G. Hurley, Christopher J. Cassidy, Thomas H. Marshburn, David Wolf, Timothy Kopra – USA
Gennady Padalka, Roman Romanenko – Russia
Robert Thirsk, Julie Payette – Canada
Frank De Winne – Belgium (European Space Agency)
Koichi Wakata – Japan |
ISS, Soyuz TMA-14, Soyuz TMA-15, STS-127 |
USA
Russia
Canada
Belgium
Japan |
17 July 2009 |
Four women in space at the same time
|
Shuttle:
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson – USA
Naoko Yamazaki – Japan
ISS: Tracy Caldwell Dyson – USA |
STS-131
ISS Expedition 23 |
USA
Japan |
5 April 2010 –
20 April 2010 |
Six spacecraft docked to a space station |
ISS: Expedition 56 |
Dragon-15, Cygnus-9, Soyuz MS-08, Soyuz MS-09, Progress MS-08, Progress MS-09 |
USA
Russia |
9 July 2018 |
Most spaceflights
- 7 spaceflights
- Jerry L. Ross – USA
- Franklin Chang Díaz – Costa Rica/USA*
- 6 spaceflights
- John W. Young – USA (While Young has made six spaceflights, he was launched into orbit seven times if his Moon ascent on Apollo 16 is counted.)
- Story Musgrave – USA
- Curtis Brown – USA
- James Wetherbee – USA
- Michael Foale – United Kingdom/USA dual citizen
- Sergei Krikalev – Soviet Union/Russia
- Yuri Malenchenko – Russia
Duration records
Total human spaceflight time by country
Total Human Spaceflight statistics by nation
TOTAL |
557 |
1259 |
3 |
53242.21 |
|
Russia
Soviet Union |
123 |
270 |
1 |
27670.59 |
|
United States |
341 |
852 |
1 |
20324.27 |
|
|
39 |
64 |
— |
2969.50 |
|
Japan |
12 |
20 |
— |
1354.76 |
|
Germany |
11 |
16 |
— |
856.71 |
|
Italy |
7 |
12 |
— |
765.92 |
|
France |
10 |
18 |
— |
628.92 |
|
Canada |
10 |
18 |
1 |
576.88 |
|
Netherlands |
2 |
3 |
— |
210.69 |
|
Belgium |
2 |
3 |
— |
207.65 |
|
United Kingdom |
2 |
2 |
— |
193.81 |
|
China |
11 |
14 |
— |
165.35 |
|
Switzerland |
1 |
4 |
— |
42.50 |
|
Sweden |
1 |
2 |
— |
26.73 |
|
Spain |
1 |
2 |
— |
18.78 |
|
Israel |
1 |
1 |
— |
15.93 |
|
Ukraine |
1 |
1 |
— |
15.69 |
|
Bulgaria |
2 |
2 |
— |
11.80 |
|
South Korea |
1 |
1 |
— |
10.88 |
|
Malaysia |
1 |
1 |
— |
10.88 |
|
South Africa |
1 |
1 |
— |
9.89 |
|
Brazil |
1 |
1 |
— |
9.89 |
|
Denmark |
1 |
1 |
— |
9.84 |
|
Kazakhstan |
1 |
1 |
— |
9.84 |
|
Afghanistan |
1 |
1 |
— |
8.85 |
|
Syria |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.96 |
|
Czechoslovakia |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.93 |
|
Austria |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.93 |
|
Poland |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.92 |
|
Slovakia |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.91 |
|
India |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.90 |
|
Hungary |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.86 |
|
Cuba |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.86 |
|
Mongolia |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.86 |
|
Vietnam |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.86 |
|
Romania |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.86 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
1 |
1 |
— |
7.07 |
|
Mexico |
1 |
1 |
— |
6.88 |
|
Astronauts currently in space:
David Saint-Jacques
Anne Charlotte «Annimal» McClain
Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko |
Crew Vehicles currently in space:
Soyuz MS-11 |
Table data accurate as of 2019-02-12 05:05 UTC |
* includes those in orbit at time table was updated
+TOTAL person days in orbit will not match the sum of the totals for individual nations as some individuals are dual citizens (based solely on those identified as such by spacefacts.de — see table references). |
Most time in space
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who has spent 878 days in space over five missions, became the record holder for the most time spent in space when he surpassed, on 28 June 2015, the record of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes (about 2.2 years) in space over the span of six spaceflights on Soyuz, the Space Shuttle, Mir, and the International Space Station. Yuri Malenchenko is currently in second place, having spent 828 days in space on six spaceflights.
The following is a list of the 50 space travelers with the most total time in space, as of 20 Dec. 2018.
Rank |
Person |
Days |
Flights |
Status |
Nationality |
1 |
Gennady Padalka |
878.480 |
5 |
Retired |
Russia |
2 |
Yuri Malenchenko |
827.389 |
6 |
Retired |
Russia |
3 |
Sergei Krikalev |
803.371 |
6 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
4 |
Alexandr Kaleri |
769.276 |
5 |
Active |
Russia |
5 |
Sergei Avdeyev |
747.593 |
3 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
6 |
Valeriy Polyakov |
678.690 |
2 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
7 |
Fyodor Yurchikhin |
672.860 |
5 |
Active |
Russia |
8 |
Peggy A. Whitson |
665.932 |
3 |
Retired |
United States |
9 |
Anatoly Solovyev |
651.117 |
5 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
10 |
Viktor Afanasyev |
555.772 |
4 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
11 |
Yury Usachev |
552.773 |
4 |
Retired |
Russia |
12 |
Sergey Volkov |
547.931 |
3 |
Retired |
Russia |
13 |
Pavel Vinogradov |
546.939 |
3 |
Active |
Russia |
14 |
Musa Manarov |
541.021 |
2 |
Retired |
Soviet Union (Azerbaijan) |
15 |
Jeffrey Williams |
534.116 |
4 |
Active |
United States |
16 |
Anton Shkaplerov |
533.230 |
3 |
Active |
Russia |
17 |
Oleg Kononenko |
533.000 |
3 |
Active |
Russia |
18 |
Mikhail Tyurin |
532.118 |
3 |
Retired |
Russia |
19 |
Oleg Kotov |
526.211 |
3 |
Retired |
Russia |
20 |
Scott Kelly |
520.440 |
4 |
Retired |
United States |
21 |
Mikhail Borisovich Korniyenko |
516.417 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
22 |
Alexander Viktorenko |
489.066 |
4 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
23 |
Nikolai Budarin |
444.060 |
3 |
Retired |
Russia |
24 |
Yuri Romanenko |
430.765 |
3 |
Retired |
Soviet Union |
25 |
Alexander Volkov |
391.495 |
3 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
26 |
Yuri I. Onufrienko |
389.282 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
27 |
Vladimir G. Titov |
387.036 |
4 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
28 |
Vasili Tsibliyev |
381.662 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
29 |
Valery G. Korzun |
381.653 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
30 |
Michael Fincke |
381.633 |
3 |
Active |
United States |
31 |
Leonid Kizim |
374.749 |
3 |
Deceased |
Soviet Union |
32 |
Michael Foale |
373.763 |
6 |
Retired |
United States / United Kingdom |
33 |
Aleksandr Serebrov |
372.954 |
4 |
Deceased |
Soviet Union / Russia |
34 |
Valeri Ryumin |
371.725 |
4 |
Retired |
Soviet Union / Russia |
35 |
Donald Pettit |
369.696 |
3 |
Active |
United States |
36 |
Oleg Artemyev |
365.962 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
37 |
Alexander Gerst |
362.076 |
2 |
Active |
Germany |
38 |
Vladimir Solovyov |
361.952 |
2 |
Retired |
Soviet Union |
39 |
Thomas Reiter |
350.239 |
2 |
Retired |
Germany |
40 |
Koichi Wakata |
347.356 |
4 |
Active |
Japan |
41 |
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov |
345.267 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
42 |
Talgat Musabayev |
341.408 |
3 |
Retired |
Russia |
43 |
Oleg Novitskiy |
340.419 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
44 |
Andrei Borisenko |
337.377 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
45 |
Maksim Surayev |
334.508 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
46 |
Alexander Misurkin |
334.468 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
47 |
Roman Romanenko |
333.459 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
48 |
Vladimir Lyakhov |
333.324 |
3 |
Deceased |
Soviet Union |
49 |
Oleg Skripochka |
331.521 |
2 |
Active |
Russia |
50 |
Aleksandr Samokutyayev |
331.474 |
2 |
Retired |
Russia |
Ten longest human spaceflights
Further information: Timeline of longest spaceflights
Crew |
1 |
437.7 days |
Valeri Polyakov |
Russia |
1994-01-08 (Soyuz TM-18) |
1995-03-22 (Soyuz TM-20) |
Mir |
2 |
379.6 days |
Sergei Avdeyev |
Russia |
1998-08-13 (Soyuz TM-28) |
1999-08-28 (Soyuz TM-29) |
Mir |
3 |
365.0 days |
- Vladimir Titov
- Musa Manarov
|
Soviet Union |
1987-12-21 (Soyuz TM-4) |
1988-12-21 (Soyuz TM-6) |
Mir |
4 |
340.4 days |
- Mikhail Kornienko
- Scott Kelly
|
|
2015-03-27 (Soyuz TMA-16M) |
2016-03-01 (Soyuz TMA-18M) |
International Space Station,
ISS year long mission |
5 |
326.5 days |
Yury Romanenko |
Soviet Union |
1987-02-05 (Soyuz TM-2) |
1987-12-29 (Soyuz TM-3) |
Mir |
6 |
311.8 days |
Sergei Krikalev |
Soviet Union/Russia |
1991-05-18 (Soyuz TM-12) |
1992-03-25 (Soyuz TM-13) |
Mir |
7 |
289.2 days |
Peggy Whitson |
United States |
2016-11-17 (Soyuz MS-03) |
2017-09-03 (Soyuz MS-04) |
International Space Station |
8 |
240.9 days |
Valeri Polyakov |
Soviet Union |
1988-08-29 (Soyuz TM-6) |
1989-04-7 (Soyuz TM-7) |
Mir |
9 |
237.0 days |
- Leonid Kizim
- Vladimir Solovyov
- Oleg Atkov
|
Soviet Union |
1984-02-08 (Soyuz T-10) |
1984-10-02 (Soyuz T-11) |
Salyut 7 |
10 |
215.4 days |
- Mikhail Tyurin
- Michael López-Alegría
|
|
2006-09-18 (Soyuz TMA-9) |
2007-04-21 (Soyuz TMA-9) |
International Space Station |
Longest single flight by a woman
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman when she surpassed Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s 199 days, 16 hours during Expedition 52 in 2017. She returned to Earth in Sep. 2017, having spent 289 days, 5 hours and 1 minute in space. In third place is American astronaut Sunita Williams with 195 days on the ISS, where she was a member of Expedition 14/Expedition 15 (2006–2007).
Longest continuous occupation of space
An international partnership consisting of Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan and the member states of the European Space Agency have jointly maintained a continuous human presence in space since 31 October 2000, when Soyuz TM-31 was launched. Two days later it docked with the International Space Station.Since then space has been continuously occupied for 18 years, 168 days.
Longest continuous occupation of a spacecraft
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2 Nov. 2000 (18 years, 166 days). It broke the record of 9 years and 358 days of the Soviet/Russian Space Station Mir on 23 October 2010.
Longest solo flight
Valery Bykovsky flew solo for 4 days, 23 hours in Vostok 5 from 14 to 19 June 1963. The flight set a space endurance record which was broken in 1965 by the (non-solo) Gemini 5 flight. The Apollo program included long solo spaceflight, and during the Apollo 16 mission, T. K. Mattingly orbited solo around the Moon for more than 3 days and 9 hours.
Longest time on the lunar surface
Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission stayed for 74 hours 59 minutes and 40 seconds (over 3 days) on the lunar surface after they landed on 11 Dec. 1972. They performed three EVAs (extra-vehicular activity) totaling 22 hours 3 minutes, 57 seconds (as commanders were always the first one out of the LM and the last to get back in, Cernan’s EVA time was slightly longer).
Longest time in lunar orbit
Ronald Evans of Apollo 17 mission stayed in lunar orbit for 6 days and 4 hours (148 hours); however, for the solo portion of that flight around the Moon, T. K. Mattingly on Apollo 16 spent 1 hour 38 minutes longer than Evans’ solo duration.
Speed and altitude records
Farthest humans from Earth
The Apollo 13 crew (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert), while passing over the far side of the Moon at an altitude of 254 km (158 mi) from the lunar surface, were 400,171 km (248,655 mi) from Earth. This record-breaking distance was reached at 0:21 UTC on 15 April 1970.
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 Sep. 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Fastest
The Apollo 10 crew (Thomas Stafford, John W. Young and Eugene Cernan) achieved the highest speed relative to Earth ever attained by humans: 39,897 kilometers per hour (11.082 kilometers per second or 24,791 miles per hour, approximately 32 times the speed of sound and 0.00037% of the speed of light). The record was set 26 May 1969.
Age records
John Glenn, 14 April 1998
Earliest-born to reach space (suborbital flight)
Joe Walker (born 20 February 1921), on X-15 Flight 90 on 19 July 1963.
Earliest-born to reach space (orbital flight)
- Man – Georgy Beregovoy (born 15 April 1921), on Soyuz 3 on 26 October 1968.
- Woman – Valentina Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937), on Vostok 6 on 16–19 June 1963.
Youngest (age during spaceflight)
- Man – Gherman Titov (aged 25 years), on Vostok 2 on 6 August 1961.
- Woman – Valentina Tereshkova (aged 26 years), on Vostok 6 on 16–19 June 1963.
Oldest (age during spaceflight)
- Man – John Glenn (aged 77), on STS-95 on 29 October 1998.
- Woman – Peggy Whitson (aged 56), on Soyuz MS-03 on 17 Nov. 2016. She turned 57 on 9 February 2017, while still in space.
Spacewalk records
Most spacewalks (number and duration)
Both of these are the record for the largest total number of spacewalks by a male and a female, and the most cumulative time spent on spacewalks by a male and a female.
- Man – Anatoly Solovyev, 16 spacewalks for a total time of 82 hours, 21 minutes.
- Woman – Peggy Whitson, 10 spacewalks for a total time of 60 hours, 21 minutes.
Most spacewalks during a single mission
- 7: Anatoly Solovyev, during the 24th Expedition on the Soviet/Russian space station Mir, in 1997–98. (Two were internal «spacewalks» inside a depressurized module.)
- 6: Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov, the third crew on the Soviet space station Salyut 7.
Longest single spacewalk
- 8 hrs 56 min, by James Voss and Susan Helms, 11 March 2001 on an ISS assembly mission during Shuttle mission STS-102
Animal records
Further information: Animals in space
First living organisms in space
The first living organisms of any kind to enter space in a planned way were fruit flies launched by the United States in 1947 aboard a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 68 miles (109 km). They were also the first animals to safely return from space.
First animal in orbit
Laika was a Soviet female canine launched on 3 Nov. 1957 on Sputnik 2. The technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, so there was no expectation for survival. She died several hours into flight. Belka and Strelka became the first canines to safely return to Earth from orbit on 19 August 1960.
Longest canine single flight
Soviet space dogs Veterok (Ветерок, «Light Wind») and Ugolyok (Уголёк, «Ember») were launched on 22 February 1966 on board Cosmos 110 and spent 22 days in orbit before landing on 16 March.
First animals beyond low-Earth orbit
An assortment of animals including a pair of Russian tortoises, as well as wine flies and mealworms launched with a number of other biological specimens including seeds and bacteria on a circumlunar mission aboard the Soviet Zond 5 spacecraft on 15 Sep. 1968. It was launched by a Proton-K rocket. The capsule came within 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of the Moon and later successfully returned to Earth, the first spacecraft in history to return safely to Earth from the Moon.
Notable unmanned spaceflights
Further information: List of unmanned spacecraft by program
In reference to: |
Spacecraft |
Event |
Origin |
Date |
Earth |
MW 18014 (A-4 (V-2)) |
First rocket to reach space (suborbital flight). |
Germany |
20 June 1944 |
Earth |
V-2 No. 20 |
First living organisms (fruit flies) in space (suborbital flight). Successfully recovered. |
USA |
20 February 1947 |
Earth |
R-1V |
First mammals (dogs) in space (suborbital flight). Successfully recovered. |
USSR |
22 July 1951 |
Earth |
Sputnik 1 |
First satellite in orbit. |
USSR |
4 October 1957 |
Earth |
Sputnik 2 |
First animal in orbit, Laika the dog. |
USSR |
3 Nov. 1957 |
Earth |
Vanguard 1 |
Oldest satellite still in orbit, in addition to its upper launch stage. Expected to stay in orbit 240 years. Ceased transmission in May 1964. |
USA |
17 March 1958 |
Earth |
Pioneer 1 |
Failed to reach the Moon as intended, but reached a record–setting distance of 113,800 kilometres (70,700 mi) from Earth. |
USA |
11 October 1958 |
Earth |
Jupiter AM-13 |
First monkey in space, Gordo, a squirrel monkey. |
USA |
13 Dec. 1958 |
Earth |
Luna 1 |
First spacecraft to achieve Earth’s escape velocity. |
USSR |
4 January 1959 |
Moon |
Luna 1 |
First flyby. Distance of 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi). |
USSR |
4 January 1959 |
Sun |
Luna 1 |
First spacecraft in heliocentric orbit. |
USSR |
4 January 1959 |
Moon |
Luna 2 |
First impact. |
USSR |
14 Sep. 1959 |
Moon |
Luna 3 |
First image of lunar far-side. |
USSR |
7 October 1959 |
Earth |
Discoverer 13 |
First satellite recovered from orbit. |
USA |
11 August 1960 |
Earth |
Korabl - Sputnik 2 |
First living beings recovered from orbit. |
USSR |
19 August 1960 |
Venus |
Venera 1 |
First flyby. Distance of 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi) (lost communication contact before). |
USSR |
19 May 1961 |
Moon |
Ranger 4 |
First spacecraft to impact the far side of the Moon. |
USA |
26 April 1962 |
Earth |
Alouette 1 |
First satellite designed and constructed by a country other than the USA or USSR (the British satellite Ariel 1, launched five months earlier, was designed and constructed by the USA). |
Canada |
29 Sep. 1962 |
Venus |
Mariner 2 |
First planetary flyby. Distance of 34,762 kilometres (21,600 mi) (with communication contact). |
USA |
14 Dec. 1962 |
Earth |
Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1 |
Oldest spacecraft still in use (50 years as of 2015). |
USA |
6 May 1965 |
Mars |
Mariner 4 |
First flyby and first planetary imaging. Distance of 9,846 kilometres (6,118 mi). |
USA |
14 July 1965 |
Earth |
Astérix |
First satellite launched independently by a nation other than the USA or USSR (other nations had previously flown satellites launched on American rockets). |
France |
26 Nov. 1965 |
Moon |
Luna 9 |
First soft landing and first pictures from the lunar surface. |
USSR |
3 February 1966 |
Venus |
Venera 3 |
First impact. |
USSR |
1 March 1966 |
Moon |
Luna 10 |
First orbiter. |
USSR |
3 April 1966 |
Docking |
Cosmos 186, Cosmos 188 |
First automated docking of unmanned spacecraft. |
USSR |
30 October 1967 |
Moon |
Zond 5 |
- First to circle the Moon and return to land on Earth.
- First animals to circle the Moon.
|
USSR |
15 Sep. 1968 |
Moon |
Luna 16 |
First automated sample return. |
USSR |
24 Sep. 1970 |
Moon |
Luna 17 |
First automated roving vehicle, Lunokhod 1. |
USSR |
17 Nov. 1970 |
Venus |
Venera 7 |
First soft landing. |
USSR |
15 Dec. 1970 |
Mars |
Mariner 9 |
First orbiter. |
USA |
14 Nov. 1971 |
Mars |
Mars 2 |
First impact. |
USSR |
27 Nov. 1971 |
Mars |
Mars 3 |
First soft landing. Maintained telemetry signal for 20 seconds before transmissions ceased. |
USSR |
2 Dec. 1971 |
Sun |
Pioneer 10 |
First spacecraft to achieve the Sun’s escape velocity. |
USA |
3 March 1972 |
Jupiter |
Pioneer 10 |
First flyby. Distance of 132,000 kilometres (82,000 mi). |
USA |
4 Dec. 1973 |
Mercury |
Mariner 10 |
First flyby. Distance of 703 kilometres (437 mi). |
USA |
29 March 1974 |
Venus |
Venera 9 |
- First orbiter.
- First surface-level imaging of another planet.
|
USSR |
22 October 1975 |
Mars |
Viking 1 |
First surface-level imaging of Mars. |
USA |
20 July 1976 |
Saturn |
Pioneer 11 |
First flyby. Distance of 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi). |
USA |
1 Sep. 1979 |
Venus |
Venera 13 |
First sound recording made on another planet. |
USSR |
1 March 1982 |
Trans - Neptunian region |
Pioneer 10 |
First to travel past the orbit of Neptune, the furthest major planet from the Sun. |
USA |
13 June 1983 |
Venus |
Vega 1 |
First helium balloon atmospheric probe. |
USSR |
11 June 1985 |
Comet Giacobini-Zinner |
International Cometary Explorer (ICE) |
First flyby through a comet tail (no pictures). Distance of 7,800 kilometres (4,800 mi). |
USA |
11 Sep. 1985 |
Uranus |
Voyager 2 |
First flyby. Distance of 81,500 kilometres (50,600 mi). |
USA |
24 January 1986 |
Comet Halley |
Vega 1 |
First comet flyby (with pictures returned). Distance of 8,890 kilometres (5,520 mi). |
USSR |
6 March 1986 |
Orbital Spaceplane |
Buran |
First fully automated orbital flight of a spaceplane (with airstrip landing). |
USSR |
15 Nov. 1988 |
Phobos |
Phobos 2 |
First flyby. Distance of 860 kilometres (530 mi). |
USSR |
21 February 1989 |
Neptune |
Voyager 2 |
First flyby. Distance of 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi). |
USA |
25 August 1989 |
951 Gaspra |
Galileo |
First asteroid flyby. Distance of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi). |
USA |
29 October 1991 |
Jupiter |
Galileo probe |
First impact. |
USA |
7 Dec. 1995 |
Jupiter |
Galileo |
First orbiter. |
USA |
8 Dec. 1995 |
Mars |
Mars Pathfinder |
First automated roving vehicle, Sojourner. |
USA |
4 July 1997 |
433 Eros |
NEAR Shoemaker |
First asteroid orbiter. |
USA |
14 February 2000 |
433 Eros |
NEAR Shoemaker |
First asteroid soft landing. |
USA |
12 February 2001 |
Saturn |
Cassini orbiter |
First orbiter. |
ESA
USA |
1 July 2004 |
Solar wind |
Genesis |
First sample return from farther than the Moon. |
USA |
8 Sep. 2004 |
Titan |
Huygens probe |
First soft landing. |
ESA
USA |
14 January 2005 |
Comet Tempel 1 |
Deep Impact |
First comet impact. |
USA |
4 July 2005 |
25143 Itokawa |
Hayabusa |
- First asteroid ascent.
- First interplanetary escape without undercarriage cutoff.
|
Japan |
19 Nov. 2005 |
81P/Wild |
Stardust |
First sample return from comet. |
USA |
15 January 2006 |
Earth |
Voyager 1 |
- Farthest distance from Earth.
- Farthest distance from the Sun (20.479 billion km).
|
USA |
As of Nov. 2016 |
Longest time in operation |
Voyager 2 |
Longest continually operating space probe (since August 1977). |
USA |
As of 2015 |
Earth to Venus trajectory |
IKAROS |
First interplanetary solar sail. |
Japan |
Set sail on 10 June 2010 |
25143 Itokawa |
Hayabusa |
First sample return from an asteroid. |
Japan |
13 June 2010 |
Mercury |
MESSENGER |
First orbiter. |
USA |
17 March 2011 |
Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point |
Chang’e 2 |
First object to reach the L2 Lagrangian point directly from lunar orbit. |
China |
25 August 2011 |
International Space Station |
SpaceX Dragon |
First commercial spacecraft to berth with the International Space Station. |
SpaceX |
25 May 2012 |
Interstellar medium |
Voyager 1 |
First spacecraft to cross the heliopause, thereby exiting the heliosphere and entering interstellar space. |
USA |
25 August 2012 |
4179 Toutatis |
Chang’e 2 |
- First object to reach an asteroid directly from a Sun-Earth Langrangian point.
- First probe to explore both the Moon and an asteroid.
|
China |
13 Dec. 2012 |
67P / Churyumov – Gerasimenko |
Rosetta |
First comet orbiter. |
ESA |
6 August 2014 |
67P / Churyumov – Gerasimenko |
Philae |
First comet soft landing. |
ESA |
12 Nov. 2014 |
Ceres |
Dawn |
First dwarf planet orbiter. |
USA |
6 March 2015 |
Mars |
Opportunity |
Longest distance traveled on surface of another world (26.219 miles (42.195 km), marathon-length). |
USA |
23 March 2015 |
Mercury |
MESSENGER |
First impact. |
USA |
30 April 2015 |
Pluto |
New Horizons |
- First flyby of Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx.
- First up-close images of the Pluto system and of Pluto and Charon’s surfaces.
- First to explore the Kuiper belt.
|
USA |
14 July 2015 |
All 9 planets in the pre-IAU redefinition version of the Solar System |
All United States spacecrafts including New Horizons |
With the New Horizons flyby of Pluto, the United States is the first nation to have its space probes explore all nine planets in the pre-2006 IAU redefinition version of the Solar System. |
USA |
14 July 2015 |
Earth |
Juno |
Fastest man-made object relative to Earth (c. 265,000 kilometres per hour (165,000 mph)). |
USA |
4 July 2016 |
Earth |
Falcon 9 |
First re-flight of orbital class rocket. |
SpaceX |
30 March 2017 |
Earth |
Falcon 9
H-IIA-202 |
Shortest period between orbital launches (launched 72 seconds apart). |
USA
Japan |
23 Dec. 2017 |
Sun |
Parker Solar Probe |
Highest velocity of a spacecraft relative to the Sun: 95.3 km/s (343,112 km/h; 213,200 mph).Closest ever approach to the Sun: distance of 0.16 AU (24,000,000 kilometres (15,000,000 mi)). Spacecraft will continue to lower its perihelion by multiple Venus gravity assists until its closest approach in 2024, which is expected to bring the probe within 9.86 solar radii (6,900,000 km; 4,300,000 mi) of the Sun’s surface at a velocity of 191.7 km/s (690,000 km/h; 430,000 mph), by which point it will have become the fastest object in the Solar System apart from Comets (overtaking asteroid 2005 HC4). |
USA |
5 Nov. 2018 |
Moon |
Chang’e 4 |
First soft landing at the far side of the Moon. |
China |
3 January 2019 |
Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply.
Published in April 2019.
Click here to read more articles related to aviation and space!
|
|