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PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Gregory Chamitoff

Canadian-born American engineer and former NASA astronaut who lived aboard the ISS during Expeditions 17 and 18.

United States

Gregory Chamitoff

NASA / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain

Biography

Gregory Chamitoff, born in Montreal in 1962, is an aerospace engineer, professor and former NASA astronaut. He joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 1998 after work in mission control and aerospace research. In 2008 he spent roughly six months aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer and science officer, then returned to space on STS-134 in 2011. Across his completed missions he accumulated 198 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes in space. JTA contemporaneously described him as a Jewish astronaut and reported that he brought mezuzot to the station. Canadian-born American engineer and former NASA astronaut who lived aboard the ISS during Expeditions 17 and 18. In Jewish World Records, Gregory Chamitoff is connected to the record “Longest Cumulative Time in Space by a Jewish Man,” based on the stored achievement of 198 days 18 hours 2 minutes.

Video

NSS Space Forum: From Orbit to the Classroom with NASA Astronaut Greg Chamitoff — a biographical conversation about his work as astronaut, engineering professor, and space educator, 23 February 2026.

Background video about this holder. It is not evidence for any JWR record value.

Records held by Gregory Chamitoff

Gregory Chamitoff
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Space · Human Spaceflightlongest cumulative duration

Longest Cumulative Time in Space by a Jewish Man

Record holder

Gregory Chamitoff

Record value

198 days 18 hours 2 minutes

Gregory Chamitoff’s record is built primarily on his six-month residence aboard the International Space Station in 2008, followed by a return to orbit on STS-134 in 2011. Combined, his completed missions total 198 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes. The metric is cumulative elapsed time in space, not number of flights or time on a single mission. JWR compared Chamitoff with other documented Jewish male space travelers, including David Wolf, Garrett Reisman, Jeffrey Hoffman and Boris Volynov. His total remains the highest verified completed cumulative duration for a Jewish man. The record also reflects the transition from short Shuttle missions to long-duration habitation aboard the ISS.

Country represented
United States
Achievement location
United States
Achievement date
1 June 2011
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