Regardless of holding the title for the longest stint in space by a NASA astronaut, Frank Rubio would have reasonably not spent all that additional time in low Earth orbit and away from his household. In a latest interview, the astronaut revealed that he would have seemingly turned down the mission had he identified it could prolong over a yr as an alternative of the deliberate six months.
“If that they had requested me up entrance earlier than coaching, since you do prepare for a yr or two years on your mission, I in all probability would have declined,” Rubio instructed reporters on Tuesday throughout a dwell broadcast from the Worldwide House Station (ISS). “It might have damage, however I’d have declined.”
Rubio launched to the ISS on September 21, 2022 on board a Russian Soyuz crew capsule. In December 2022, the spacecraft that transported Rubio, together with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, started leaking coolant into low Earth orbit whereas hooked up to the ISS. In consequence, the spacecraft was deemed unfit to fly the trio again to Earth.
Rubio’s mission was prolonged from a six-month keep on board the area station to a little bit over a yr. The NASA astronaut is ready to return to Earth on September 27, logging in 371 days in Earth orbit and turning into the primary U.S. astronaut, and certainly one of solely six folks, to spend a yr in area. On September 11, Rubio beat the previous record of 355 days set by Mark Vande Hei in 2022.
It’s definitely a terrific achievement, however one the astronaut wouldn’t have willingly signed up for. “That’s solely due to household issues that had been happening this previous yr,” he instructed reporters. “Had I identified that I needed to miss these essential occasions, I simply would have needed to say ‘thanks, however no thanks.’”
Though he wasn’t ready to spend over a yr on board the ISS, Rubio acknowledges that non-public sacrifices have to be made with a view to hold the area station operational for the previous 23 years. “We’ve got to get the mission achieved,” he mentioned.
It’s a uncommon perception into the mindset of astronauts who should spend months away from dwelling. “When it lastly turned actual that it was gonna require me to remain for a full yr … it was tough,” Rubio mentioned. The mission additionally marked Rubio’s first time in area.
If all goes effectively, Rubio will board a Soyuz MS-23 in every week’s time and return again to the floor of his dwelling planet. “Hugging my spouse and children goes to be paramount and I’ll in all probability deal with that for the primary couple days,” Rubio mentioned, discussing what he anticipates upon returning to Earth. “I believe simply going out within the yard and having fun with the timber and the silence. Up right here, we type of have the fixed hum of equipment…so I’m trying ahead to simply being exterior and having fun with the peace and quiet.”
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