Russian cosmonaut who set space endurance record dies

MOSCOW (AP) — Veteran Russian cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, who set space endurance records on Soviet missions, then returned to orbit after a long absence to fly on a U.S. space shuttle, has died at the age of 82. Ryumin went into space four times, including to the space stations Salyut-7 and Mir after becoming a cosmonaut in 1973. He logged a total of 371 days in space in two short missions and two record-setting long-duration flights. The head of the Russian space agency called Ryumin’s death “an irreparable loss for all of us.” Ryumin is survived by his wife, fellow cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova.