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Space NASA

NASA's Most Experienced Astronaut Retires, Spent 665 Days In Space (upi.com) 49

Posted by EditorDavid from the final-frontiers dept.
An anonymous reader quotes UPI: After nearly four decades with NASA, including 22 years as an astronaut, Peggy Whitson is leaving the space agency. Her retirement is effective Friday, NASA announced... Whitson ends her career with multiple records to her name, including most time spent in space by a U.S. astronaut -- 665 days...

The 57-year-old Whitson was a scientist before she was an astronaut, earning graduate degrees in biochemistry from Rice University in Houston before coming to conduct research at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 1989. The NASA scientist began training as an astronaut in 1996. She made her first trip to the International Space Station in 2008. During her time in space, including three long-duration stints aboard International Space Station, she helped carry out 21 science investigation and became the agency's first space station science officer... Whitson took a second turn as commander during Expedition 51, part of her most recent -- and last -- stay on the space station, which spanned from November 2016 to September 2017.
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NASA's Most Experienced Astronaut Retires, Spent 665 Days In Space More

NASA's Most Experienced Astronaut Retires, Spent 665 Days In Space

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  • So close... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17, 2018 @07:58AM (#56798276)

    Almost the most METAL astronaut ever. Just one day off...

  • Born in literally nowhere Iowa, and became one of the greatest astronauts of all time.

    • Not literally.

      And people from all over have accomplishments. Most people born in what might be considered 'hot spots' on the right or left coast are just the same blah average people. Statistics takes care of that. So there's no need to scramble to somewhere that it's more expensive to live to squirt out your kid.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      Note that she also has a degree from Rice Univeristy. Sometimes going to the right school does make a difference. Rice boasts seven astronauts with degrees, and seven more affiliated with the institution.

  • 15 goddam mod points ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CaptainDork ( 3678879 ) on Sunday June 17, 2018 @10:59AM (#56798726)

    ... and not one fucking comment would make a good wart on a slasdotter's ass.

    Disappointing.

    --

    Telling, to me, is that I have never heard of her. When someone of her caliber steps out of the dimness into the limelight at the end of her long career, I wonder where she was on the stage.

    Hell, I wonder where I was in the audience.

    Congratulations to her on a job -- not well done -- but very well done

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jwymanm ( 627857 )
      Blame the media. They'd rather cover Kardashians than the Whitsons or your local favorite city teacher. No expose on how education is done right or how programs that were started are actually doing with our tax payer money. If they do cover it it's done in the span of 30 seconds and rehashed nationally if it's headline worthy.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by twosat ( 1414337 )

      She's well-known by those that follow space news. Maybe you've heard of this astronaut through his viral Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • I'm happy for her. She's on easy street now, but I doubt she'll take it easy.

    • She is probably traveling around, giving talks.

      • Partial retirement fun time. (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        This is it.
        This is where she will make some big bucks now.
        Having such a long established career can only lead to giving talks and making even more money.
        Whether it is just talking about day-to-day routines or the expertise she commanded, experiments and any problems. She could even bullshit and talk about how sometimes she felt she could die at any moment just to add a bit of danger and excitement in to the mix.
        Book deals certain. Maybe some TV special on Discovery or something, or a short in something re

  • So, 665 days in space - I did some googling, and some calculating - any of which may be wrong or wildly off base. But consider this:

    The International Space Station orbits the earth at a speed of ~4.76 miles per second.

    Multiplying this out, here are the miles traveled by Peggy Whitson:
    60*60*24*665*4.76 = 273,490,560
    Almost 275 million miles.

    186282 = miles traveled by light in one second

    273490560/186282 = 1468 // number of light seconds Whitson's travel represents

    Whitson has traveled a distance equivalent to t

  • You think she would have earned a free flight, or at least a first class upgrade.
  • ... did we mention that she's a woman?

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