Space Station Assembly
Commanding history with 695 days in orbit and ten spacewalks.
Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher and astronaut who worked for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018 after serving as the 13th chief of the Astronaut Office. Over her missions, she accumulated a total of 695 days in space, more than any other American or woman. Her first mission was in 2002 on Expedition 5, followed by Expedition 16 where she became the first woman to command the ISS. In 2009, she became the first woman to serve as NASA's Chief Astronaut.
Quick Facts
- Total days in space
- 695
- Number of spacewalks (eva)
- 10
- Cumulative eva time
- 60 hours, 21 minutes
- Commander of expedition
- 5, 16, 51
Lore & Background
Whitson grew up on a farm in Beaconsfield, Iowa, inspired by the 1969 Moon landing. She earned her doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University in 1986 before joining NASA as a research associate. Her early career included serving as project scientist for the Shuttle-Mir Program and deputy division chief for Medical Sciences at Johnson Space Center. Selected as an astronaut candidate in April 1996, she completed training by August 1997. In June 2003, she commanded NEEMO 5 underwater. She served as deputy chief of the Astronaut Office from November 2003 to March 2005 and later became the first woman and non-pilot Chief of the Astronaut Office in October 2009, resigning in July 2012.
Reader's Guide
Whitson's career demonstrates the path to becoming a veteran commander. She first served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas and Rice University while working on Shuttle-Mir. Her first command came with Expedition 5 in 2002, where she installed truss segments and performed spacewalks. In 2007-2008, during Expedition 16, she became the first woman to command the ISS. She returned as commander of Expedition 50/51/52 starting November 19, 2016, extending her mission by three months in early April 2017. After retiring from NASA on June 15, 2018, she joined Axiom Space as a consultant and later Director of Human Space Flight. She commanded Axiom Mission 2 on May 21, 2023, and Axiom Mission 4 on June 26, 2025.
Did You Know?
- Whitson holds the record for the most spacewalks by a woman with 10.
- She became the first woman to command the International Space Station twice (Expedition 16 and Expedition 51).
- Her 289-day flight was the longest single spaceflight by a woman until Christina Koch's 328-day mission.
- At age 57, she set the record for the oldest woman in space at that time, a record later broken by Wally Funk in 2021.
- She is still the oldest woman to orbit the Earth, setting this record in 2025 at age 65.
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