Russian cosmonaut to set record Sunday for most time spent in space -reports

FILE PHOTO: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko reacts in the bus just before the departure to the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko is expected to set a world record on Sunday for the duration of space flights with nearly 2-1/2 years in total, Russian news agencies reported.

As expected, at 11:30:08 Moscow time (0830:08 GMT), the 59-year-old Kononenko will exceed the achievement of his compatriot Gennady Padalka, who accumulated a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds over five space flights before retiring in 2017, the state news agency TASS reported.