Died record holder for the duration of space flight Valery Polyakov

Soviet and Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who set a record for the longest flight into space, has died at the age of 80. “Roskosmos”. Cause of death or other details were not given.

Valery Polyakov participated in two space expeditions lasting 678 days and 16 hours. The record was his stay on the Mir orbital station for 437 days in 1994-1995. “His research helped prove that the human body is ready for flights not only to near-Earth orbit, but also to deep space,” Roscosmos noted.

Mr. Polyakov made his first space flight from August 29, 1988, it lasted until April 27, 1989. For the successful implementation of a long flight, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1989). He made his second and last flight from January 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995, in the same year he received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

From the late 1980s, he worked as deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems for scientific work. In the 1990s, he was deputy flight director at the control center for medical support for flights at the Mir station. In 2011, he was awarded the Medal for Merit in Space Exploration.

Laura Keffer