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JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000141

Farthest Distance from Earth Reached by a Jewish Woman

Record holder

Jessica U. MeirPerson

Record value

428.9 kilometers

Country represented: United StatesAchievement location: United StatesAchievement date: 27 August 2026Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Jessica U. Meir in a NASA spacesuit

Jessica U. Meir — record holder for “Farthest Distance from Earth Reached by a Jewish Woman”.NASA / Wikimedia CommonsWikimedia Commons / NASAPublic domain

Official record definition

The greatest maximum documented orbital altitude above Earth reached while physically aboard a spacecraft or station by a woman satisfying JWR Jewish Eligibility at Achievement.

Measurement methodology

Like-for-like comparison of published mission orbital-apogee values for verified Jewish women space travelers, using the maximum documented altitude reached while aboard.

Measurement point: verified record metric at the qualifying achievement date

Record story

On 27 August 2026, a Cygnus XL reboost raised the International Space Station to an apogee of 266.5 statute miles, approximately 428.9 kilometers. Jessica Meir was aboard the station as part of Expedition 75, so she physically reached that maximum orbital altitude. JWR compares documented apogees on a like-for-like basis rather than mixing average altitude, perigee or launch trajectory values. Earlier missions flown by verified Jewish women were screened, including flights by Marsha Ivins, Judith Resnik and Ellen Baker. Their published maximum orbital values remained below the 2026 ISS apogee. The resulting record is a precise example of how a station reboost can create a new human altitude mark even without a new launch.

Media

Gallery

  • Jessica U. Meir
    Jessica U. Meir, record holder.NASA/Josh Valcarcel / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
28 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

NASA states that the 27 August 2026 Cygnus XL reboost placed the ISS in a 266.5 × 254.9 statute-mile orbit while Jessica Meir was aboard Expedition 75.

Superiority evidence

Reviewed Jewish-woman comparators, including earlier missions by Marsha Ivins, Judith Resnik and Ellen Baker, did not exceed the 428.9 km apogee documented for the 2026 ISS orbit.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir wants to be the first woman on the moon — Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • NASA, Northrop Grumman Complete Cygnus XL Space Station Reboost — NASA
  • NASA Astronaut Jessica U. Meir — NASA

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • STS-46 — NASA

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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