A NASA astronaut stuck in space for more than 10 months will break a record

Astronauts spend several months in space, usually six months, when they board the International Space Station. Some stay longer than others, but it’s not always of their own free will. It is for the American astronaut Frank Rubio who is of Salvadoran descent.

When he arrived aboard the International Space Station on September 21, 2022, Frank Rubio was far from imagining that he wouldn’t return on schedule. His return date is actually set for March 2023. Unforeseen events have delayed his return to dry land for several months. Currently, Frank Rubio is still living in Earth orbit. If all goes as planned, the return mission will be scheduled for September.

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Stranded in space, the astronaut cannot return to Earth yet

This isn’t the first time astronauts have found themselves stuck in space, in this case aboard the International Space Station. However, Frank Rubio’s extended stay would allow him to break a record.

In just a few weeks, Frank Rubio should break the world record for the world’s longest spaceflight by an American astronaut. In fact, the former battalion surgeon celebrated 300^H A day in space on July 19th. However, he is not yet ready to return.

Between now and his return, Frank Rubio will break the record held by Mark T. Vande He who lived 355 days on the International Space Station between April 2021 and March 2022. Unlike Frank Rubio who left on a 6-month mission, Mark T. Vande He took off to spend Almost a year on the International Space Station.

Daily life aboard the International Space Station can sometimes be hectic

For Frank Rubio, an extended stay aboard the International Space Station is not easy. The American astronaut should do between one and two hours of exercise per day to maintain his muscle mass in a state of weightlessness. He also has to deal with emergencies. For example, the International Space Station lost all contact with NASA teams on July 25th. NASA has lost International Space Station power, telemetry, commands, and voice communications “.

The Russian Space Agency helped restore communications from the International Space Station. The situation was not trivial. It is the first time since 2009 that NASA has had to activate backup control systems to restore communication with the station.

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The micrometeorite is at the root of this 6-month delay for the astronaut

But then, what delayed the return of Frank Rubio? The Russian Soyuz MS-22 capsule, which was to return the astronaut to Earth, suffered a “staggering leak” caused by a small meteorite. This leak happened before the return flight that was scheduled to take place in March 2023.

Therefore, the Russian space agency Roscosmos sent the new Soyuz MS-23 capsule docked to the International Space Station. However, the return mission has been pushed back by 6 months, which fixes the landing on Earth for September. Moreover, Frank Rubio is not the only one who has suffered from this misadventure. He was to return to Earth with two cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin.

However, the two Russian cosmonauts are not going to break a record. And for good reason, the Russian record is held by Valery Polyakov who died in 2022. He lived 437 days on the space station between 1994 and 1995.