Current:Home > MarketsNASA space station astronaut Frank Rubio sets new single-flight endurance record-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
NASA space station astronaut Frank Rubio sets new single-flight endurance record
lotradecoin crypto-to-crypto transactions View Date:2024-12-25 16:15:11
Astronaut Frank Rubio, forced to spend an extra six months aboard the International Space Station because of trouble with his Russian ride home, set a new U.S. single-flight endurance record Monday, moving past Mark Vande Hei's 355 days off planet.
Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin plan to return to Earth aboard a replacement Soyuz ferry ship on September 27 to close out a marathon 371-day stay in space — the first flight longer than a full year by an American astronaut.
Launched last September 21, Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio originally planned to come home in March, but their Soyuz MS-22 ferry ship suffered a massive coolant leak in December, presumably due to a micrometeoroid impact.
After an extensive analysis, the Russians concluded cabin temperatures likely could exceed safety limits during re-entry. So they opted to launch an unpiloted replacement Soyuz in February that carried out a successful automated rendezvous and docking.
In order to put the Russian crew-rotation schedule back on track, Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, a married father of four, were forced to extend their stay aboard the space station by an additional six months.
"On a personal level, it was pretty tough, just because I was missing my family and I knew I was going to miss some pretty big milestones, for my kids, especially," Rubio said in an earlier interview with The Associated Press.
"Birthdays, anniversaries, my son's going to head off to college this year, my oldest daughter is finishing up her first year of college," he added. "We've tried really hard to stay in touch with one another. ... My wife, my kids, they've been troopers, and they've really handled it incredibly well.
"And how well they've handled it has made it easier for me to just focus on work and make do with the hand we've been dealt."
On Monday, at 1:40 p.m. EDT, Rubio's time aloft moved past Vande Hei's previous record of 355 days 3 hours and 45 minutes, set at the conclusion of a space station mission that began on April 9, 2021, and ended with landing in Kazakhstan on March 30, 2022. At touchdown September 27, Rubio will have logged 370 days and 21 hours away from Earth.
"Frank thought when he flew to space, he would be here for six months," astronaut Woody Hoburg said before returning to Earth after his own six-month mission. "And partway through his mission, he found out that it was extended to a year.
"His leadership up here has been incredible. He's been amazing to work with. And Frank is just making a huge sacrifice, being away from his family for so long, and I just want to really recognize the service he's given to us aboard the space station."
The late cosmonaut Valery Polyakov holds the world record for the longest single spaceflight ‚ 437 days and 18 hours — a mark set aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1994-95. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly was the first American to log nearly a year in space (340 days), followed by Vande Hei (355 days), Christina Koch (329 days) and now Rubio (371 days).
Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will be replaced by a fresh Soyuz crew — Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara — scheduled for launch Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Kononenko and Chub also plan to spend a full year aboard the station. Next March, another Soyuz will blast off carrying veteran commander Oleg Novitskiy, NASA's Tracy Dyson and Belarus researcher Marina Vasilevskaya.
Novitskiy, Vasilevskaya and O'Hara will return to Earth about 10 days later. Kononenko, Chub and Dyson will remain in orbit until next September. At the conclusion of that year-long mission, Kononenko will have logged more than 1,000 days in space — another record — over five flights.
- In:
- Spacewalk
- International Space Station
- Space
- NASA
Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News. He covered 129 space shuttle missions, every interplanetary flight since Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune and scores of commercial and military launches. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a devoted amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia."
TwitterveryGood! (91)
Related
- Get 10 free boneless wings with your order at Buffalo Wild Wings: How to get the deal
- You're throwing money away without a 401(k). Here's how to start saving for retirement.
- Blizzard brewing in Northern Plains, Upper Midwest as spring storm targets region
- Storms sweep the US from coast to coast causing frigid temps, power outages and traffic accidents
- Clint Eastwood's Son Scott Shares How Family Is Doing After Death of Christina Sandera
- Duke dominates James Madison behind freshman Jared McCain and looks poised for March Madness run
- Bradford pear trees are banned in a few states. More are looking to replace, eradicate them.
- A Colorado dentist is accused of his wife's murder. Did he poison her protein shakes?
- What to stream: Post Malone goes country, Sydney Sweeney plays a nun and Madden 25 hits the field
- NBA suspends Kris Dunn, Jabari Smith for role in fight during Rockets-Jazz game
Ranking
- Las Vegas police could boycott working NFL games over new facial ID policy
- Storms sweep the US from coast to coast causing frigid temps, power outages and traffic accidents
- Analysis: Florida insurers made money last year for first time in 7 years
- Storms sweep the US from coast to coast causing frigid temps, power outages and traffic accidents
- Britney Spears' Ex Sam Asghari Reveals Special Girl in His Life—But It's Not What You Think
- Anne Hathaway Shares She Suffered Miscarriage Before Welcoming Sons With Adam Shulman
- Shop 52 Bravo-Approved Amazon Deals: Kyle Richards, Ariana Madix, Teresa Giudice, Gizelle Bryant & More
- Trump is due in court for a hearing in his hush money case after new evidence delayed his trial
Recommendation
-
Red Cross blood inventory plummets 25% in July, impacted by heat and record low donations
-
Royal Family Member Shares Rare Insight Into Prince William and Kate Middleton's Family Dynamic
-
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy: Do not be fearful of a motion to vacate
-
Philadelphia prison chief to leave job after string of inmate deaths and escapes
-
Detroit judge orders sleepy teenage girl on field trip to be handcuffed, threatens jail
-
Texas man dies after becoming trapped while cleaning a Wisconsin city’s water tank, police say
-
Kamala Harris will meet Guatemalan leader Arévalo on immigration and his anti-corruption drive
-
Mindy Kaling Responds to Rumors She and B.J. Novak Had a Falling Out