| 1. She started working at the University she graduated from as a Robert A Welch Postdoctoral Fellow in 1985. |
| 2. In 1992, she became the project scientist of the Shuttle-Mir Program (STS-60, STS-63, STS-71, Mir 18, Mir 19) until 1995. |
| 3. Whitson became an astronaut candidate in April 1996 and began training in August of the same year. |
| 4. During Expedition 16, she exceeded Sunita Williams for the most spacewalks by a woman. |
| 5. After spending 534 days, 2 hours, and 48 minutes in space, Whitson set the record for the longest time spent in space by any NASA astronaut. |
| 6. She served as NASA's first female and non-pilot Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2009 to 2012. |
| 7. She commanded the International Space Station twice, during Expedition 16 in 2008 and Expedition 51 in 2017. |
| 8. She completed 10 spacewalks totaling over 60 hours. |
| 9. She was NASA's first ISS Science Officer during Expedition 5. |
| 10. She started working at Rice University as a Robert A Welch Postdoctoral Fellow in 1985. |
| 11. She was the first female and non-pilot Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2009 to 2012. |
| 12. She became the first woman to command a private spaceflight as commander of Axiom Mission 2. |
| 13. She holds the record for most cumulative time in space by any American astronaut or woman astronaut in the world. |
| 14. After spending 665 days in space across three NASA missions, Whitson set the record for the most time spent in space by any woman and any American astronaut. |
| 15. In 2017, after 289 days on a single mission, she became the first woman to hold the record for the longest single space flight. |
| 16. She was the first woman, nonmilitary Chief of the Astronaut Office. |
| 17. She was NASA's first female and non-pilot Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2009 to 2012. |
| 18. At age 57 on her final NASA flight, she was the oldest woman ever in space at that time. |
| 19. She is the oldest woman to orbit the Earth, a record she set in 2025 at age 65. |
