As Expedition 50/51 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:20 a.m. local time on Friday, American astronaut Peggy Whitson became the oldest woman to travel in space.
The Iowa-born biochemistry researcher and astronaut is on track to break more than just one record during her third-ever visit to the International Space Station.
Whitson will also become the first woman to command the orbital complex twice.
She already holds the record for the longest time spent in space by a woman with 377 days.
