Valery Polyakov, Who Took Longest Single Trip to Space, Dies

Valery V. Polyakov, the cosmonaut who set a world record for spending time in space on the MIR space station from Jan. 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995, enjoys a visit to the Philopappos Hill in Athens, Greece, on Oct. 16, 1995, with the ancient Parthenon in the background. Aris Saris/AP Photo

MOSCOW—Valery Polyakov, the Soviet cosmonaut who set the record for the longest single stay in space, has died at age 80, Russia’s space agency announced Monday.

Polyakov’s record of 437 days in space began Jan. 8, 1994, when he and two others blasted off on a two-day flight to the Soviet space station Mir. While aboard Mir, he orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times, before returning March 22, 1995.