Tag: Valery Polyakov

[ad_1] Valery Polyakov, the Soviet cosmonaut who set the record for the longest single stay in space, has died at age 80, Russia's space agency announced Monday. Valery Polyakov, the Soviet cosmonaut who set the record for the longest single stay in space, has died at age 80, Russia's space agency announced Monday. Polyakov's record of 437 days in space began January 8, 1994, when he and two others blasted off on a two-day flight to the Soviet space station Mir. While aboard Mir, he orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times, before returning March 22, 1995. Upon landing, Polyakov declined to be carried out of the Soyuz capsule, as is common practice to allow readjustment to the pull of gravity. He was helped to climb ou...