With three more people arriving at the International Space Station (ISS), Earth’s orbit just got busier than ever. “Following Wednesday’s launch to @Space_Station, there are now 19 humans in orbit — a new record for humanity. We’re proud to help expand the frontiers of human exploration. Ad Astra,” read a post on NASA’s official X handle.
after launch on Wednesday @space StationThere are now 19 humans in orbit — a new record for humanity.
We are proud to help expand the boundaries of human exploration. pic.twitter.com/3FvzQlbmNN
— NASA (@NASA) September 13, 2024
Earlier this week, three people departed for the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. These included NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. With this, there are now a record-breaking 19 people in Earth orbit.
This surpassed the record of 17 set last year, Space.com reports.
The previous record in orbit was set in May 2023. At that time, a total of 17 people were on board the International Space Station as well as China’s Tiangong space station for a short time.
There has been at least one human presence on the International Space Station at all times since 2000, USA Today reports.
19 people in space
Upon their arrival, Pettit, Ovchinin and Vagner joined nine other astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station. These include NASA’s Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, Michael Barrett, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps and cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Oleg Kononenko and Alexander Grebenkin.
The three people on the Tiangong space station are Li Guangsu, Li Cong and Ye Guangfu of the Shenzhou 18 mission.
Apart from these, there are four astronauts who are currently living in a free-flying Crew Dragon. These include Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
The Polaris Dawn mission, launched Tuesday, will last five days.
Sunita Williams will return next year
Indian-origin astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were launched in June this year via the Crew Flight Test (CFT), the first crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner capsule.
Although the mission was scheduled to last a few days, NASA decided to keep Starliner attached to the ISS after the capsule experienced thruster problems in orbit.
Ultimately, the Starliner returned to Earth without a crew, while Williams and Wilmore are now expected to return home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in February 2025.
