Shannon Lucid, the astronaut who spent a record 188 days in space this year, became the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. President Clinton praised her as a “determined visionary.”

In an Oval Office ceremony Monday, Lucid said her history-making flight aboard the Russian space station Mir was a story of “two great space-faring nations” cooperating on a landmark mission and setting the stage for more joint exploration.