Astronaut Jeffrey Williams prepares to beat Scott Kelly's record for days spent in space


NASA is preparing to send three astronauts to the International Space Station on Friday, following the recent return of Scott Kelly to Earth. Alexey Ovchinin, Jeffrey Williams, and Oleg Skripochka will lift off from Kazakhstan around 3:26 a.m. Saturday local time.
Williams is a three-flight veteran and said the Soyuz spacecraft the men will be taking to the Space Station is "quite the ride," according to CBS News. "It's better than an E-ticket ride at Disneyland, I guess you could say. It only takes nine minutes to get to orbit, and in that time, you're going 17,500 miles an hour."
Williams, 58, has spent a total of 362 days in space already. With the completion of this next expedition, he will beat Kelly's record of 520 days in space, reaching 534 in late August.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We've got a wide variety of science that's ongoing in the space station, and there's no exception during my coming stay," Williams said. "I think what's most interesting to me, because it supports future exploration, is the study of ourselves. We're guinea pigs up there, so we're doing a lot of studies on the human body, trying to understand the impacts of the environment on us so we can develop countermeasures. Those end up in some ways being the more challenging ones, but they're also the more interesting ones personally."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellation
Cartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Crossword: July 26, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months
-
Rubio says US brokered end to Syria conflict
Speed Read Syria's defense ministry was targeted in Israeli attacks on the capital
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'
speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
IDF blames 'error' for strike on Gaza water line
Speed Read Israeli forces attack Palestinians, including children, collecting water in central Gaza
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks