NEW U.S. RECORD: 521 DAYS IN SPACE

cape canaveral, fla.» Astronaut Jeffrey Williams, the commander of the International Space Station, marked a U.S. recording-breaking 521st day in orbit Wednesday, a number accumulated over four flights. That surpasses the 520-day record set by Scott Kelly, whose one-year space station mission ended in March.

By the time Williams returns to Earth in two weeks to close out his latest half-year trip, he will have logged 534 days off the planet for NASA.

His record won’t last long. Space station veteran Peggy Whitson will top that after she flies up in November for another six-month stay. She’s at the 377-day mark for total space time, a record for a woman. And even that won’t come close to the world record of 879 days held by Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka — a total of 2½ years.

As it is, Williams will be No. 14 on the world’s most-time-in-space list, behind 13 Russians, by the time he lands. The Associated Press

Astronaut Jeff Williams works on two small satellites at the International Space Station’s Japanese Kibo Laboratory Module. NASA