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After Record-Breaking Stay On ISS, MN Native Mark Vande Hei Will Soon Return To Earth

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, a Minnesota native, is set to return to Earth later this month after a record-breaking stay on the International Space Station.

Vande Hei, who returned to the ISS in April of last year, is expected to land in Kazakhstan with two Russian cosmonauts on March 30.

Vande Hei's 355-day stay in space is a new single-flight record for a NASA astronaut.

RELATED: Minnesota Native Mark Vande Hei Returns To International Space Station

The return trip comes amid escalating tensions between the Russian space program and the West. While the space station continues to operate in near-normal fashion for now, the Russians have terminated commercial Soyuz launch operations at the European Space Agency's launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, and cut-off sales and support for Russian rocket engines used in U.S. rockets.

Vande Hei first headed to the International Space Station in 2017. He graduated from Benilde-St. Margaret's high school and in 1989 earned his B.S. in physics from St. John's University.

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