Rubio reflects on a full year in space

Although he has a title The longest period NASA has spent in space AastronautFrank Rubio would have preferred not to spend all that extra time in low Earth orbit and away from his family. In a recent interview, the astronaut revealed that he likely would have rejected the mission had he known it would extend for more than a year instead of the planned six months.

“If they had asked me in advance before training, because you train for a year or two for your mission, I probably would have said no,” Rubio told reporters Tuesday during a live broadcast from the International Space Station. “It was painful, but I was going to say no.”

Rubio blasted off to the International Space Station on September 21, 2022 aboard a Russian Soyuz crew capsule. In December 2022, the spacecraft that carried Rubio, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin, began launching. Coolant leak into low Earth orbit While attached to the International Space Station. As a result, the spacecraft was deemed unfit to return the three to Earth.

Rubio’s mission was extended from six months aboard the space station to just over a year. The NASA astronaut is scheduled to return to Earth on September 27, spending 371 days in Earth’s orbit and becoming the first American astronaut, and one of only six people, to spend a year in space. On September 11, Rubio won Previous record Of the 355 days Mark Vande has identified, it is 2022.

It’s certainly a great accomplishment, but one that the astronaut would not have willingly signed up for. “It’s just because of family matters that happened last year,” he told reporters. “If I had known I would miss those very important events, I would have said, ‘Thank you, but no thanks.’”

Although he wasn’t prepared to spend more than a year aboard the ISS, Rubio realizes that personal sacrifices had to be made in order to keep the space station running for the past 23 years. “We have to get the job done,” he added.

It’s a rare look into the mindset of astronauts who have to spend months away from home. “When it became a reality that it was going to take me to stay a full year, it was tough,” Rubio said. The mission was also Rubio’s first time in space.

If all goes well, Rubio will board the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft within a week and return to the surface of his home planet. “Hugging my wife and kids is going to be a big thing, and I’ll probably focus on that the first couple days,” Rubio said. Discuss what to expect when he returns to Earth. “I think just going out into the yard and enjoying the trees and the silence. Here, we kind of have the constant hum of the machines.”o I look forward to being outside and enjoying the peace and quiet.

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