Frank Rubio was supposed to spend six months on the International Space Station… and this Thursday came the year. A failure in the ship that would bring him back made him the NASA astronaut with the most days in space.
When will you be back on Earth the Latino astronaut, son of Salvadorans?
As planned, both Rubio and his companions Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitri Petelin will return to Earth on September 27. The group will have spent 371 days in orbit by then.
None will break the absolute record for days in space: this honor the Soviet Valeri Poliakov has it, who spent 437 days at the Mir station, between 1994 and 1995.
However, It was not in Frank Rubio’s plans to achieve this either.
Francisco Carlos Rubio, born on December 11, 1975 in Los Angeles, California, is the son of Salvadorans. United States Army lieutenant colonel and surgeon, He was selected by NASA as a member of the 22nd group of astronauts in 2017.
The astronaut arrived at the International Space Station on September 21, 2022, together with Prokopiev and Petelin, in a Soyuz capsule.
However, as the Russian agency Roscosmos explained, the ship suffered damage, and it would take several more months to be repaired. So the mission of Rubio and his companions would extend more than 6 months.
This week, Rubio explained his feelings about surpassing the NASA record, established by Mark Vande Hei, which was 355 days.
“This is my first mission, which is incredible, because it lasted a long time,” said the Latin astronaut. “I have experienced a mix of emotions, a roller coaster of emotions, because professionally it was an incredible challenge, incredibly rewarding.”
Rubio admitted that if he had been offered to spend so much time on the International Space Station initially, he would have rejected the mission. The astronaut is married and has four children.
“One thing I have tried to do, and I hope I have achieved (I certainly have not done it perfectly) is to maintain a positive and stable attitude throughout the mission, “despite the internal ups and downs,” pointed out the surgeon.
“You try Just focus on the work and the mission, and stick with it. Because ultimately every day you have to show up and do the work here in this very unforgiving environment.”
The countdown to the return of the “space castaway” is closer to its end. Frank Rubio will be home soon.