The human presence in orbit continues to grow. Indeed, while space has been continuously inhabited since 1998, notably thanks to the launch of the International Space Station (ISS), there have never been as many human beings in space at the same time as today. An exceptional record that therefore beats the one that was established in 2023.
The record was set on September 11, 2024, when a Russian Soyuz rocket and its three-person crew reached the International Space Station.
And the new record for the number of people in orbit at the same time stands at…
19
“With the trio now in orbit, there are a record 19 people currently in orbit” said Anna Schneider as a commentator of the Soyuz rocket's launch during the live broadcast.
But who are the 19 people currently in orbit, and more importantly, in which ships are they operating?
The ISS cannot accommodate that many people, but it is currently the place with the most human beings in orbit with a total of 12 people:
- Michael Barratt (NASA)
- Tracy Cadlwell-Dyson (NASA)
- Matthew Dominick (NASA)
- Jeannette Epps (NASA)
- Barry Wilmore (NASA)
- Suni Williams (NASA)
- Don Pettit (NASA)
- Alexey Ovchinin (Roscosmos)
- Ivan Vagner (Roscosmos)
- Nikolai Chub (Roscosmos)
- Alexander Grebenkin (Roscosmos)
- Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos)
The second most populated ship is the mission's Dragon capsule Polaris Dawn of SpaceX, which recently conducted the first private spacewalk in space history. Dragon currently hosts four people who are not part of a space agency:
- Jared Isaacman
- Sarah Gills
- Scott Poteet
- Anna Menon
This brings the number of people to 16. The three other human beings who complete and establish the record for the number of people in orbit at the same time are the three astronauts of the Chinese space station Tiangong:
- Li Cong (CNSA)
- Li Guangsu (CNSA)
- Ye Guangfu (CNSA)
A record that should not have been broken
If this record beats the one set in 2023 with 17 people in orbit at the same time, it probably shouldn't have been broken, at least this year. So, reading the call list, two people in particular shouldn't have been in orbit right now: Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore.
In fact, the two NASA astronauts were part of Boeing's mission: StarlinerThe latter was a near-total failure because it condemned the two scientists to remain in the ISS for eight months. Their mission was only supposed to last 8 days.
They will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule in February 2025, while they arrived on board in June 2024. The capsule itself returned to Earth empty on September 7, 2024.
Source: Space
Allan is out in the field, at the heart of the action. Specializing in local reports and in-depth investigations, he has a knack for revealing the stories behind our city’s facades.
