Frank Rubio this week became the American with the longest stay in space, surpassing 355 consecutive days, despite originally only being planned for a six-month stay on the International Space Station.
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“It was an incredible challenge, but also an incredible blessing in other ways,” he said on Wednesday from the space station (ISS) during a live-streamed discussion with the head of NASA.
“I can’t wait to get to 365 days,” added the astronaut, trained doctor and helicopter pilot. “This will be an important milestone for our nation.”
The previous record for an American was set in 2022 by astronaut Mark Vande Hei with 355 consecutive days. Russian cosmonaut Valéri Poliakov holds the absolute record for the longest stay in space with 437 days.
When Frank Rubio returns to Earth, usually on September 27, he will have spent 371 days in space.
However, he launched aboard a Russian rocket in September 2022 and thought about setting off on a classic six-month mission accompanied by two Russian cosmonauts.
But the Soyuz spacecraft that was supposed to bring them back – which, as always, remained attached to the ISS for the duration of its mission so that it could serve as a rescue vehicle if necessary – suffered a leak in December, presumably due to a micrometeorite impact.
As a precautionary measure, the Russian agency Roscosmos returned this ship and sent another, empty one. With this, Frank Rubio and his two colleagues fulfilled the mission of the crew, which was initially supposed to arrive on board this second ship and replace them.
During his stay on the ISS, Frank Rubio, of Hispanic descent, saw other crews arrive and leave and met a total of no fewer than 28 people of different nationalities, he noted on Wednesday.
“If I count correctly, that’s almost 5 percent of all people who have ever been in space, which is pretty incredible,” he said.
He listed the numerous scientific experiments carried out on board. “When you’re there for a while, you really focus on the work and sometimes forget to appreciate the fact that you’re floating down there with this incredible view,” he said.
But he acknowledged the experience wasn’t always easy.
“At the resort you are limited to the equivalent of a five-bedroom house, so psychologically it was a bit of a challenge for a year,” he said.
Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the American record for the number of days spent in space during her lifetime, with 675 days during various missions.