Peggy Whitson

Peggy Whitson
Whitson at the National Air and Space Museum in 2018
Born (1960-02-09) February 9, 1960 (age 64)
Beaconsfield, Iowa, U.S.
EducationIowa Wesleyan University (BS)
Rice University (MS, PhD)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
675d 4h 5m
SelectionNASA Group 16 (1996)
Total EVAs
10
Total EVA time
60h 21m[1]
MissionsSTS-111/STS-113 (Expedition 5)
Soyuz TMA-11 (Expedition 16)
Soyuz MS-03/MS-04 (Expedition 50/51/52)
Axiom Mission 2
Axiom Mission 4
Mission insignia
RetirementJune 15, 2018[2]
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
ThesisThe Lactose Repressor-Operator DNA Interaction: Chemical and Physical Studies of the Complex (Modification, Equilibrium, Protein, Stopped-Flow, Kinetics) (1986)
Doctoral advisorKathleen Matthews

Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut.[3] Over all her missions, Whitson accumulated a total of 665 days in space, more than any other American or woman.[4][5]

Her first NASA space mission was in 2002: an extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as a crew member of Expedition 5. On her second mission, Expedition 16 in 2007-2008, she became the first woman to command the ISS.[6][7] In 2009, she became the first woman to serve as NASA's Chief Astronaut, the most senior position in the NASA Astronaut Corps.[8] In 2017, Whitson became the first woman to command the International Space Station twice. Her 289-day flight was the longest single space flight by a woman[9][10] until Christina Koch's 328-day flight.[11]

Whitson holds the records for the oldest woman spacewalker and the most spacewalks by a woman.[12][13] Whitson's cumulative EVA time is 60 hours, 21 minutes, which places her in fifth place for total EVA time.[1] At age 57 on her final NASA flight, she was the oldest woman ever in space at that time - a record broken in a 2021 sub-orbital flight by Wally Funk. She is still the oldest woman to orbit the Earth, a record she broke in 2023, at 63.[14]

On June 15, 2018, Whitson retired from NASA. She later became a consultant for Axiom Space[15] and is the commander of Axiom Mission 2[16] and will be the commander of Axiom Mission 4.

Whitson was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018.[17]

  1. ^ a b Spacefacts (2017). "Astronauts and Cosmonauts with EVA Experience (sorted by "EVA Time")". Spacefacts. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Potter, Sean (June 15, 2018). "Record-Setting NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson Retires". NASA.
  3. ^ NASA. "Peggy A. Whitson (Ph.D.)" (PDF). Biographical Data. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "'American Space Ninja' Back On Earth After Record-Breaking Flight". NPR. August 6, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Astronaut Peggy Whitson returns to Earth after record-breaking spaceflight". Fox News Channel. September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Malik, Tariq (2007). "Space Station Astronauts Prepare for Crew Swap". Space.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  7. ^ Malik, Tariq (October 4, 2007). "Astronauts Ponder State of Space Exploration". Fox News. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  8. ^ Nola Taylor Tillman (June 16, 2018). "Peggy Whitson: Record-Holding Astronaut". Space.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "Peggy Whitson Space time". spacefacts.de. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  10. ^ "Soyuz MS-04 lands as Peggy Whitson ends record-breaking mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. September 2, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "Christina Koch Completes 328-Day Mission in Space – Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Garcia, Mark (March 30, 2017). "Peggy Whitson Breaks Spacewalking Record". NASA. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "Whitson Becomes World's Oldest Female Spacewalker, as EVA-38 Replaces Aging Space Station Batteries". January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Peggy Whitson, Oldest Woman Astronaut, Sets New Spacewalk Record | Travel + Leisure". Travelandleisure.com. March 30, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Axiom-20201008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference ax2commander was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Peggy Whitson: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. Retrieved September 22, 2020.