American spacewoman sets records galore
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronaut Peggy Whitson is closing out a space streak unmatched by any other American.
The world’s most experienced spacewoman is due back on Earth this weekend following 9½ months at the International Space Station. Counting all her flights, she will have logged 665 days in space — the equivalent of more than 1½ years.
First stop Saturday night is Kazakhstan as usual for a Russian Soyuz capsule touchdown, then a brief detour to Germany before heading home to stormcrippled Houston.
During her third and latest mission, which began IN November, the 57-year-old biochemist became the oldest woman in space. She performed her 10th spacewalk, more than any other woman. And she became the first woman to command the space station twice.
On the eve of her landing, she’s craving pizza, Whitson said via email in response to questions from The Associated Press. A formal media conference was canceled earlier in the week because of the storm, so email responses were the next-best thing.
She said her home in Houston is fine, but so many friends and co-workers were not as fortunate. Johnson Space Center in Houston remains closed until Tuesday except for essential personnel. “Any trepidations I might have about returning in the aftermath of a hurricane are entirely eclipsed by the all those folks keeping our mission going,” she said.
Whitson said she will miss “the ability to ‘go for a walk’ in a spaceship built for one,” a reference to her spacesuit, and seeing “the enchantingly peaceful limb of our Earth” from on high.
“Until the end of my days, my eyes will search the horizon to see that curve,” she wrote.
Whitson’s been an astronaut since 1996 and is married to a fellow biochemist, Clarence Sams, who works at the space center.
A farm girl from Iowa, Whitson enjoyed growing vegetables on the space station, all part of scientific research, and especially enjoyed sampling some of the results.
Last month, Whitson posted a photo of herself on Twitter, “soaking up some sunset time” in the space station’s observation deck.
After landing back on Earth in Kazakhstan (where it will be Sunday), Whitson and Fischer won’t be flying straight back to Houston on a NASA plane. The storm delayed NASA’s plane from getting there in time to bring the two back right away, said flight director Zeb Scoville. They will meet up with the plane in Cologne, Germany, astronaut headquarters for the European Space Agency. A Sunday night arrival in Houston is expected.
What’s next for Whitson? “I am not sure what the future holds for me personally, but I envision myself continuing to work on spaceflight programs,” she wrote. She also plans on “paying forward some of the advice and mentoring that I received on my journey.”
Station officials would like nothing better. “She needs to be our blueprint,” said Dan Hartman, the station’s deputy program manager.