{"id":10609,"date":"2022-03-30T23:40:35","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T15:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-astronaut-back-on-earth-after-record-setting-flight\/"},"modified":"2022-03-30T23:40:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T15:40:35","slug":"nasa-astronaut-back-on-earth-after-record-setting-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-astronaut-back-on-earth-after-record-setting-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA astronaut back on Earth after record-setting flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

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NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei gives a thumbs-up after landing in Kazakhstan, closing out 355 days in space. Credit: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei joined two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Wednesday, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a U.S.-record 355-day stay in space.<\/p>\n

Despite a break in East-West relations following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, station operations have continued normally and Vande Hei was ferried home as planned with Soyuz MS-19\/65S commander Anton Shkaplerov and flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov.<\/p>\n

Descending under a billowing orange-and-white parachute, the Soyuz descent module made a jarring rocket-assisted touchdown near the town of Dzhezkazgan at 7:28 a.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. local time).<\/p>\n

Russian recovery crews and NASA support personnel quickly converged on the spacecraft to help the crew members out one by one for initial medical checks. All three were carried to nearby recliners where they appeared in good spirits as they began readjusting to the unfamiliar tug of gravity.<\/p>\n

For Shkaplerov, who chauffeured a Russian actress and her director to the space station last October, touchdown closed out a 176-day flight, his fourth.<\/p>\n

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NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, commander Anton Shkaplerov, and flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov inside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after landing. Credit: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vande Hei, completing his second flight, and first-time flier Dubrov took off aboard a different Soyuz last April. During their stay in orbit, the two men travelled 150 million miles over 5,680 orbits, logging 355 days seven hours and 45 minutes off planet.<\/p>\n

That set a new single-flight record for a U.S. astronaut, moving Vande Hei past retired astronaut Scott Kelly\u2019s 340-day mark and Christina Koch\u2019s 329 days aloft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great,\u201d Kelly said in a recent interview with CBS News. \u201cWhat\u2019s the saying, records are made to be broken? And that means we\u2019re doing things better than we did it before. So yeah, congratulations to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Including a previous station visit, Vande Hei\u2019s total time in space now stands at 523 days, moving him up to third on the list of most experienced NASA astronauts behind Peggy Whitson and Jeff Williams. Kelly moved down a spot to fourth.<\/p>\n

But the Russians hold the records for most time in space overall and with Wednesday\u2019s landing, Shkaplerov had logged 708 days off planet over four flights, making him the world\u2019s seventh most experienced space flier. In comparison, Vande Hei ranks 23rd on the world list.<\/p>\n

In any case, Vande Hei downplayed the new U.S. record before leaving the space station, saying \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a record that I would even attribute to me, it\u2019s a record for our space program.\u201d<\/p>\n