Welcome Home, Christina Koch
Record-Setting NASA Astronaut Returns from Space Station
After setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, Galveston resident and NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth last Thursday (Feb. 6), along with Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Luca Parmitano, of the European Space Agency.
| NASA astronaut Christina Koch is helped out of the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft just minutes after landing in a remote area near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. | Photo Credit NASA/Bill Ingalls |
A week later the island was buzzing that Christina was back home on the island. She confirmed the rumors with a tweet, arms held high admiring the world from a different angle.
And then there was this. pic.twitter.com/5D2GVUCfRm
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 12, 2020
Then she posted this viral sensation. That is one happy dog!
Not sure who was more excited. Glad she remembers me after a year! pic.twitter.com/sScVXHMHJn
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 13, 2020
Koch launched March 14, 2019, alongside fellow NASA astronaut, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut, Alexey Ovchinin. Her first journey into space of 328 days is the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, and also places her seventh on the list of cumulative time in space for American astronauts with one or more missions.
By August, she was “Dreaming of surf checks by bike from 61st Street to Flagship, long runs on East Beach, and Tanker Surfing the wakes of ships in the channel.”
Galveston Island, Texas. Dreaming of surf checks by bike from 61st Street to Flagship, long runs on East Beach, and Tanker Surfing the wakes of ships in the channel. #SwellFromSpace pic.twitter.com/6QCoL0jfDC
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) August 2, 2019
By December, she seemed ready for home, “Hello, Houston! See you again in exactly two months.”
Hello, Houston! See you again in exactly two months. pic.twitter.com/X4mPGSQm8T
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) December 7, 2019
Her official NASA bio includes, “Koch enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, paddling, surfing, running, yoga, community service, photography and travel.”
We hope to see her doing her favorite things around the island. Welcome home, Christina.
Lee Roane
Lee Roane has worked on the Galveston.com website since 1994. He is interested in history and birding but will write about anything if he thinks it will help someone enjoy the island.
