With one trip to the space station, a female astronaut has broken two barriers and some records.
NASA's Peggy Whitson is on her 535th day in space, more than any other American astronaut. The first woman to command the International Space Station, the 57-year-old Whitson is also the oldest woman to have gone to space.
Experience has proven Whitson to be a resilient space explorer. During re-entry following her second mission in 2008, her Soyuez capsule experienced a technical glitch, sending it hurtling into a violent dive and exposing the crew to forces eight times more powerful than the earth's gravity for more than a minute.
She plans to speak with President Trump today upon breaking the record. She's scheduled to return to Earth in September with over 660 days at the ISS under her belt.Source: ABC News