OREANDA-NEWS. The One More Orbit website reported that American astronaut Terry Virts and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka among the members of an international crew would attempt to beat the world speed record of 2008 in flying speed around the Earth through both poles. They will fly on a Gulfstream G650ER jet aircraft.

The airplane should start on July 9 from the Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral on the Eastern shore of USA). It will go to the North Pole, and then it will land in the capital of Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan for refueling. Padalka will join the crew there. Another refueling will be in Port Louis (Mauritius, the Indian Ocean). Then Gulfstream G650ER will fly to the South Pole and land in Punta Arenas (Chile). According to the plan, the 41,526 kilometers long journey around the world should finish on July 11 at Cape Canaveral in 49 hours and 36 minutes after start. So, the target speed is 838 kilometers per hour.

The crew, which also includes the members from Great Britain, Denmark, the Republic of South Africa, Ukraine, Poland and Qatar, will try to break the record set by the Bombardier Global Express aircraft in November 2008. It is 52 hours and 32 minutes (so, speed to beat is 822 kilometers per hour).

Padalka made five space flights, and he is the world record holder in the total duration of space flights (878 days). Virts took part in two space missions. The American astronaut intends to broadcast from the plane on the air. Internet portal Arstechnica.com reported about his plans to make a documentary film about the flight.