Frank Rubio
HOUSTON—NASA’s top administrators paid tribute on Sept. 13 to NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, pilot and medical doctor currently serving aboard the International Space Station (ISS) who two days earlier broke the 355-day record for the longest spaceflight by an American.
The previous record was set by fellow NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, a retired U.S. Army colonel and applied physicist, on March 30, 2022, upon his return to Earth from the orbital science laboratory.
Their long missions and those of several others who have spent about 300 days in space or more have provided NASA’s Human Research Program with data to help prepare for future long-term deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.
“We thank you. Bless you,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told Rubio during a 20-min. chat that included NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, a former NASA shuttle astronaut, retired U.S. Air Force colonel and test pilot.
Rubio is on course to extend his spaceflight record to 371 days upon his planned return to Earth aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-23 capsule with cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. Their spacecraft is to depart the ISS Russian segment for a parachute-assisted descent into Kazakhstan for recovery on Sept. 27, concluding an ISS Expedition 69/70 crew handover that began on Aug. 26.
Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule on Sept. 21, 2022, for what was to be a standard six-month tour of duty.
In mid-December 2022, the MS-22 experienced a sudden external coolant leak traced to a suspected micrometeoroid/orbital debris impact while docked to the ISS Russian segment.
The incident prompted a decision to deorbit the MS-22 uncrewed and replace it with the Soyuz MS-23, which was launched to the orbital lab without a crew on board on Feb. 23 for an automated docking at the ISS two days later.
The crew capsule exchange also prompted an extension of the mission by Rubio, Prokopyev, the current ISS 69 commander, and Petelin.
“I’m so grateful the agency was able to say the safe thing to do would be to fly up a new spacecraft and have us wait to ensure a more safe return,” Rubio told Nelson and Melroy. “I count it as an incredible blessing that we have the capability to do that and that all parties involved were willing to do that.”
He described his absence from his wife and their four children as the extended mission’s biggest challenge, along with the isolation from Earth and little escape from a busy work schedule.
As the long mission progressed, he was able to engage in frequent video conferences with family members and grow closer to his astronaut and cosmonaut colleagues. Daily schedules include about 2 hr. of resistive and aerobic exercise intended to help ISS crewmembers maintain bone and muscle strength as well as heart function in the absence of gravity.
“I want to be as functional as possible when I get back,” Rubio said. “As a doctor, I’m pretty excited to see how my body does when I return. I feel like I’ve stayed at a pretty high level up here. So, it will be pretty interesting to see what those first couple of days feel like when I get back on Earth.”
After the MS-23’s descent into Kazakhstan, Rubio will be flown by NASA back to Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he trained and resides, to reunite with his family.
Despite the unplanned length of his first trip to space, Rubio termed the experience inspirational and thanked the many ground control and support team personnel at NASA and its partner space agencies for their support of he, his family and ISS colleagues.
“In some ways it’s been an incredible challenge, but in other ways it’s been an incredible blessing. So, I count myself lucky and honored to be able to represent the agency and our country,” he said.
Rubio was asked by Nelson to convey his sense of the long mission’s inspirational value to the nation’s youth and in particular those who share his Hispanic heritage.
“I’d just say keep working hard, have big dreams, but start acting on those dreams as soon as you can,” he said. “Really, the hard work and dedication are the key components to making those dreams come true. As much as possible, be kind to others and surround yourselves with good teammates. Ultimately, there are very few things we accomplish in life individually. Almost everything big we accomplish as humanity requires incredible teamwork. Try to surround yourself with good people and go out there and do great things.”
Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin’s replacements—cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara—are to launch to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard the Soyuz MS-24 on Sept. 15 at 11:44 a.m. EDT. They are to launch on a two-orbit, 3-hr. trajectory that is to lead to a docking with the ISS Russian segment Rassvet module at 2:56 p.m. EDT.
Both Rubio and O’Hara are first-time space fliers and part of a NASA/Russian space agency no-funds-exchanged ISS crew launch agreement. The accord helps ensure that at least one NASA astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut are aboard the ISS at all times.
A continuous NASA astronaut and cosmonaut presence helps to address sudden emergencies and maintenance issues aboard the ISS. The space station was assembled from primarily and now-aging U.S. and Russian elements, including those that provide solar power generation, life support and propulsion. In the event of a medical emergency or serious damage to the ISS, the crew launch strategy calls for the astronauts to depart the ISS aboard the crew transport capsule they launched on, a lifeboat-like capability that could suddenly reduce the normal seven-person population. If one crewmember experienced a medical emergency, for instance, those who launched alongside him or her would also have to depart for Earth suddenly, even if they were in good health.
The current crew exchange began with the weather-delayed Aug. 26 NASA SpaceX Crew-7 Dragon launch of NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, Russia’s Konstantin Borisov, the European Space Agency’s Andreas Mogensen and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Satoshi Furukawa.
They replaced NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 fliers, NASA’s Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg, cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi. They returned to Earth on Sept. 4 to conclude a 186-day mission that began with a March 2, 2023, launch.
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