In 2011, NASA ended the space shuttle program, and the US began hitching rides to the International Space Station (ISS) in Russian spacecraft. What could possibly go wrong?
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Astronaut Frank Rubio launched his mission to the ISS on a Soyuz space capsule on September 21, 2022. While docked, that capsule sprung a leak and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, decided it was too risky to bring anyone back to earth. Rubio’s planned six-month mission on the ISS was extended until he could get a slot on another spacecraft. Another Soyuz capsule went to the ISS and back, but carried Russian crew. Other ISS personnel arrived and departed on SpaceX vehicles, with all seats taken. So Rubio stayed in orbit, along with the two cosmonauts he arrived with.
As of today, Rubio has spent 355 consecutive days in orbit, most of it unplanned, longer than any other US astronaut. He is scheduled to return to earth on September 27th, and by that time will be the first NASA astronaut to spend more than a calendar year in space, with a total of 371 days. A statement from NASA said, in part:
“Your dedication is truly out of this world, Frank!”
It’s amazing how much dedication you can muster when you have no choice. Rubio’s record is only among NASA astronauts. The record for the longest consecutive time in space is held by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who stayed aboard the space station Mir for 437 consecutive days in 1994-95.
Incidentally, the investigation of the coolant leak in that docked Soyuz spacecraft determined it was caused by an external factor, such as space debris. Which brings up a whole other subject on the dangers of space travel. -via Gizmodo
(Image credit: NASA)
Source: neatorama