NASA’s record-breaking spacewoman retires as astronaut

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired Friday less than a year after returning from her last and longest spaceflight. She’s spent more time off the planet than any other American: 665 days over three space station missions. Fellow astronauts called her a “space ninja.” “It’s been the greatest honor to live out my lifelong dream of being a @NASA Astronaut,” Whitson said via Twitter, thanking “all who have supported me along the way.” “As I reminisce on my many treasured memories, it’s safe to say my journey at NASA has been out of this world!” The 58-year-old biochemist, who grew up on an Iowa hog farm, joined NASA as a researcher in 1986 and became an astronaut in 1996. “She set the highest standards for human spaceflight operations,” Brian Kelly, director of flight operations at Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement, “as well as being an outstanding role model for women and men in America and across the globe.” Before leaving the space station last September, Whitson said she would miss the orbiting outpost — an “awe-inspiring creation” — and the views from 250 miles up.