Rice alumna sets record in space

Rice alumna sets record in space

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

Rice alumna Peggy Whitson ’86 broke Mike Foale’s record Wednesday for cumulative time in space for a U.S. astronaut.

Whitson, pictured during her 2002 trip to the international space station, floats near the microgravity science glovebox in the Destiny laboratory. NASA

Whitson, the first female commander of the international space station,
will have spent 377 days in space on two flights when she returns to
Earth Saturday. Foale’s record was 374 days.

Whitson performed five spacewalks during Expedition 16 for a total of
six career spacewalks totaling 39 hours, 46 minutes, putting her 16th
on the all-time list — the highest ranking by a female astronaut.

Kathleen Matthews, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, was
Whitson’s thesis adviser and spoke with her on the space station by
phone earlier this week. “Peggy was more excited about the growth of
the station during her command and the potential for science
experiments in the future than she was about breaking the record,”
Matthews said.