In a remarkable feat of space endurance, a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely returned to Earth on Wednesday after a grueling year-long mission. Their extended stay in space, a result of unforeseen challenges, saw American Frank Rubio setting a record for the longest U.S. spaceflight.
The triumphant trio touched down in a remote region of Kazakhstan, their descent facilitated by a Soyuz capsule that was expedited as a replacement after their initial spacecraft fell victim to space debris, losing all of its coolant while docked to the International Space Station.
Originally intended as a 180-day mission, this journey evolved into a remarkable 371-day odyssey for Rubio and his Russian counterparts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. Rubio’s extraordinary feat surpassed NASA’s previous endurance record for a single spaceflight, held by Mark Vande Hei. However, the world record for the longest continuous spaceflight remains with Russia, standing at an impressive 437 days, achieved in the mid-1990s.
The Soyuz capsule that safely transported Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin back to Earth was launched as a replacement in February. Russian engineers suspect that a piece of space debris punctured the radiator of their original capsule late last year, endangering the spacecraft’s electronics and the safety of its occupants. As a precaution, the compromised craft was sent back to Earth uncrewed.
Unfortunately, a new Soyuz spacecraft was not available to launch a fresh crew until just recently. Rubio and his fellow astronauts had to wait nearly two weeks for their replacements to arrive.
The space station’s new commander, Denmark’s Andreas Mogensen, conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to the returning astronauts, stating, “No one deserves to go home to their families more than you.”
Throughout the descent, Prokopyev maintained communication with ground controllers, reassuring them that all three astronauts were in good health. The descent subjected them to over four times the force of gravity as their capsule plummeted through the Earth’s atmosphere, ultimately touching down on the desolate Kazakh steppes, coming to rest on its side. Helicopters swiftly swooped in with recovery teams to retrieve the astronauts.
Upon his extraction from the capsule, Rubio expressed his sentiments, stating, “It’s good to be home.”
Rubio, a 47-year-old Army doctor and helicopter pilot, candidly admitted at a news conference last week that he would not have agreed to a full year in space if he had been asked at the outset. This prolonged mission led him to miss significant family milestones, including his eldest child’s first year at the U.S. Naval Academy and another child’s departure for West Point.
The psychological challenges of such an extended stay in space proved to be more formidable than Rubio had anticipated. As of now, NASA has no immediate plans for additional yearlong missions, potentially securing Rubio’s record for the foreseeable future.
This space odyssey marked the inaugural spaceflight for Rubio and Dmitri Petelin, a 40-year-old engineer. In contrast, Sergey Prokopyev, a 48-year-old engineer and pilot, has now completed two extended stays aboard the space station. Collectively, the three astronauts traversed an astonishing 157 million miles (253 million kilometers) since their launch from Kazakhstan in September of the previous year, orbiting the Earth nearly 6,000 times in their momentous journey.
