SPACE
This NASA astronaut has been trapped in space for months
Frank Rubio is an American astronaut who will break the record for the longest time in space. A series of technical problems have prevented his return.
A 47-year-old astronaut, Frank Rubio will break a pretty big record, that for the longest time in space for an American. He has been on a mission on the International Space Station (ISS) since 21 September 2022, about 400 kilometers from the Earth, he’s trapped and he wants to come back.
Rubio, with Salvadoran roots, traveled to the space station on a Russian spacecraft as part of a crew sharing agreement between NASA and Roscosmos. The North American had to travel aboard the Soyuz MS-22, while Roscosmos put the cosmonaut Anna Kikina on a mission of SpaceX Crew Dragon which lifted off in October 2022 and returned home on 11 March this year.
Technical problems
A series of technical problems with spacecraft have prevented him from returning home and he could even stay on the ISS for months more, as he explained in an interview to the US Spanish-speaking network Univision.
Specifically, Rubio pointed out that there was a refrigerant leak in the Soyuz capsule that happened last December and that, for the moment, he is stuck. He has been assured that the problem is being solved.
“Everyone told me that it was going to turn out well”
“If I come back sooner I’ll be happy to be with my family, who have always supported me and are very positive. Everyone told me it was going to turn out well”, Rubio said in the interview.
Meanwhile, Rubio makes a name for himself in the NASA Olympus; he is the 12th Hispaniard to reach the ISS. At present, the overall world record for most time spent in space is held by the late cosmonaut Valery Poyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days in orbit aboard the Russian Mir space station between 1994 and 1995.
During this waiting time, Rubio dedicates himself to scientific experiments, including hydroponic and aeroponic crops. The purpose is to increase food reserves for future expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
Who is Frank Rubio?
Rubio was selected by NASA to join the class of 2017 astronaut candidates. He entered service in August of that year. Born in Florida, he graduated from the United States Military Academy and earned an M.D. from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in 2010.
Before attending medical school, he worked as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot and flew more than 1,100 hours, including more than 600 combat missions during deployments in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, he is a Board Certified Family Physician and a Flight Surgeon. When he was selected, he was serving with the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Carson.