NASA ASTRONAUT Norman Thagard, who was launched to the Russian Mir 1 space station on Soyuz TM21 on 14 March, became the most experienced US astronaut on 12 May, having amassed over 84 days during five space flights, four on the Space Shuttle.
The record beats the achievements of three astronauts set during a single Sklylab 4 mission in 1974. Thagard will exceed this longest US space flight record on 10 June.
His return from the Mir 1, aboard the Space Shuttle STS71/Atlantis, has been delayed to possibly 5 July, by which time he will have been in space for 113 days, a figure which has been exceeded in 31 Russian missions (Flight International, 3-9 May).
Source: Flight International