Video: Change of command aboard International Space Station

International Space Station commander Jeff Williams set a new U.S. space endurance record Wednesday, his 521st day in orbit over four missions, eclipsing the 520-day record set earlier this year by astronaut Scott Kelly at the end of his nearly one-year stay aboard the lab complex.

Christina Koch, veteran of six spacewalks outside the International Space Station — including the first all-female excursion — joined a Russian commander and an Italian flight engineer for a fiery plunge to landing in frigid Kazakhstan early Thursday, setting a new record for the longest single flight by a female.

An Antares rocket is being prepared for launch for the first time in two years after emerging from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, on Thursday evening for a one-mile trip to the launch pad.