Valery Polyakov, who took longest single trip to space, dies

Valery Polyakov’s record of 437 days in space began on January 8 1994 (Aris Saris/AP)

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 on Monday.

Dr Polyakov’s record of 437 days in space began on January 8 1994, when he and two others blasted off on a two-day flight to the Soviet space station Mir.