The cosmonaut stressed that the new achievement makes him proud of the work he has done
ISS, June 5th. /tass/. A new record for staying in near-Earth space for 1 thousand days will contribute to the development of space medicine and preparation for future interplanetary flights, said Oleg Kononenko, special correspondent for TASS at the International Space Station (ISS), commander of the Roscosmos cosmonaut detachment.
On July 5, the cosmonaut became the first person to spend 1 thousand days in orbit. "Long-term flights expand the understanding of human capabilities, which are necessary to know. After all, eventually humanity will begin to perform interplanetary flights. And in this case, the issues of needs and the problem of the boundaries of the resources of the human body will be of paramount importance. It is important to clearly understand what a person can do and what he needs to perform such flights. The milestone of 1,000 days will make a definite contribution to the development of space medicine, and will also allow you to gain valuable experience necessary to solve specific problems of the functioning of systems of promising manned space stations," Kononenko said.
The cosmonaut stressed that the new achievement makes him proud of the work he has done. "On the one hand, for me 1,000 is a number showing the total number of days I have worked in space. On the other hand, there is an awareness that you have achieved something important, new, crossed a certain boundary, touched the unknown. This gives you confidence, pride in the work you have done and your contribution to the development of cosmonautics, and, of course, strength and motivation to continue your favorite business," he said.
Kononenko also said that 15 years of professional training are behind the record. "The cosmonaut has been seriously preparing for each flight for several years. These 1,000 days off Earth have included 15 years of my professional training and 5 space flights," said the commander of the Roscosmos cosmonaut detachment.
Kononenko is currently on the fifth space expedition of his career, which will end in September this year. "At first, there was excitement about whether there would be enough strength and patience for an annual expedition, since a flight of such duration is something new for me. Nikolai and I (Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai Chub - approx. TASS) at the beginning of the expedition, we set a high pace of work and are still trying to maintain it. There is motivation to successfully complete the flight and all the tasks of the program set for us with good results and quality of work. I feel fine, we are working without slowing down," he said.
The TASS special correspondent will celebrate its 60th anniversary in space on June 21. At the end of the annual expedition, his total flight time will be 1,110 days.
About cosmonaut Kononenko
Oleg Kononenko was born on June 21, 1964 in the city of Chardzhou, Turkmen SSR (now Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan). He made his first flight into space in April 2008, going to the ISS on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft. Upon returning from his first expedition to the station, the cosmonaut was awarded the titles of Hero of the Russian Federation and pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation.
