Whitson’s 665 days off the planet – 288 days on this mission alone – exceeds that of any other American and any other woman worldwide. She checked out of the International Space Station just hours earlier, along with another American and a Russian. She also became the first woman to command the space station twice following her launch last November. He offered up special praise for Whitson, whom he called “American space ninja”. Three men remain at the space station: Bresnik, a Russian and an Italian.

Source: The Guardian September 03, 2017 02:46 UTC