A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have returned to Earth after a mission that extended beyond a year due to unforeseen circumstances. American astronaut Frank Rubio set a new record for the longest U.S. spaceflight as a result of the extended stay.
The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that had to be sent up as a replacement after their original ride was struck by space debris and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station. What was initially planned as a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay in space.
Rubio’s extended stay in space set a new U.S. endurance record for a single spaceflight, surpassing the previous record held by Mark Vande Hei. The world record for the longest spaceflight is held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days in space in the mid-1990s.
The delayed return was due to the unavailability of another Soyuz spacecraft to launch a fresh crew until recently. Their replacements arrived at the International Space Station nearly two weeks ago.
Upon landing, Rubio expressed his relief at being home and the difficulties of spending such a long time in space, noting that the psychological aspects were more challenging than expected. He missed important family milestones during his extended mission.
Frank Rubio, an Army doctor and helicopter pilot, may hold onto his record for a while, as NASA currently has no plans for more yearlong missions. During their mission, the crew traveled a total of 157 million miles and circled the Earth nearly 6,000 times since their launch from Kazakhstan in September of the previous year.
