NASA’s Peggy Whitson Takes Over Command Of ISS, Breaks Another Record

Peggy Whitson will soon be the most experienced astronaut in the United States, at least, as far as time spent outside the atmosphere is concerned. The next point in her impressive resume is assuming command of the International Space Station (ISS) for the second time.

The 57-year-old astronaut had been in charge of the $100 billion space station before. However, according to AOL News, this time, she will be assuming command as two other crew members fly back to Earth. Whitson's extended stay will eventually put her on record as the longest time spent in space than any other American astronaut. By April 24, she would be breaking the record currently held by NASA's own Jeff Williams, who spent a total of 534 days on the ISS.

Not that taking command is a lesser feat. Shane Kimbrough said during the command ceremony aired on NASA TV that Whitson will also be the first two-time female commander of the ISS. Kimbrough and two other crewmates, Russians Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, will be wrapping up their own 173-day missions. They are expected to have a parachute landing in Kazahkstan at 7:21 a.m. EDT.

Zee News reported that during Kimbrough's stay on board the orbiting station, he and Expedition 50 crew members were able to contribute to experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical sciences and Earth sciences. On April 9, Kimbrough, along with Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, handed over the command of the space station to their female colleague, who now serves as commander of Expedition 51.

Peggy Whitson, however, is not the only female to ever take over the ISS. Space.com shared that while she is the first woman to take command of the orbiting lab twice, there had been another woman commander. Sunita Williams also previously took charge of the space station.