Astronaut and cosmonauts return after year in space

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Sep 2023 11:27

Originally planned as a 180-day mission, the duration has been extended to a 371-day stay in space after being struck with space debris.

Rescue team members help Sergey Prokopyev to get out of the Soyuz capsule. (AP)

An American NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts concluded their mission and returned to Earth on Wednesday, marking the end of their slightly over one-year sojourn in space. This extended stay resulted in an impressive record, with American Frank Rubio achieving the longest-ever US spaceflight.

The three crew members touched down in an isolated region of Kazakhstan, making their descent in a Soyuz capsule that had been rapidly deployed as a replacement. This was necessitated after their initial spacecraft was struck by space debris and experienced a loss of all coolant while connected to the International Space Station.

Originally planned as a 180-day mission, the duration was extended to a 371-day stay in space. Frank Rubio's mission exceeded NASA's previous endurance record for a single spaceflight, held by Mark Vande Hei, by over two weeks. That said, Russia holds the global record with a 437-day mission, established in the mid-1990s.

The Soyuz capsule that transported Rubio, Sergey Prokopyev, and Dmitri Petelin back to Earth was a replacement capsule launched in February. Russian engineers suspect that their original capsule's radiator was punctured by space debris late last year, during what was initially intended to be a six-month mission.

Concerns arose that without proper cooling, the capsule's electronics and occupants could reach hazardous temperatures, leading to the decision for the capsule to return empty.

After 371 days of exploration and @ISS_Research in low Earth orbit, Frank Rubio is back on the ground.

Get the details on his mission, the longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut: https://t.co/1L4JmRxQAY pic.twitter.com/5TKvOaNqTX
— NASA (@NASA) September 27, 2023

Another Soyuz capsule suitable for launching a new crew was not available until this month. Their substitutes only arrived almost two weeks ago.

During their descent, Prokopyev continually communicated with ground controllers, reassuring them that all three astronauts were in good condition. As their capsule re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, they encountered forces exceeding four times the pull of gravity, ultimately landing on their side in the desolate Kazakh steppes. Simultaneously, helicopters arrived with recovery teams to retrieve the astronauts.

Rubio expressed his relief upon being extracted from the capsule, stating, "It’s good to be home."

During a news conference last week, Rubio, a 47-year-old army doctor and helicopter pilot, mentioned that if he had been initially asked, he would never have consented to spend a year in space. As a result, he missed significant family milestones, such as his eldest child completing her first year at the US Naval Academy and another child beginning their journey at the West Point military academy.

Rubio and Petelin, both in their 40s, experienced their maiden spaceflight, with both Rubio and Petelin as engineers. Prokopyev (48), who serves both as an engineer and pilot, has now completed two extensive missions on the station.

Collectively, they covered a distance of 157 million miles (253 million kilometers) since their launch from Kazakhstan in September of the previous year, orbiting the Earth approximately 6,000 times.