NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has successfully completed his mission and returned to Earth, setting a new record for the longest time an American astronaut has been in orbit.
This is reported by NASA and The Times.
It is noted that the man spent 371 days in orbit.
Rubio, along with his Russian colleagues, cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, made a safe parachute landing southeast of the remote city of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 7:17 a.m. EST.
“For me, to be honest, it’s obvious that hugging my wife and kids is going to be the most important thing, and I’ll probably focus on that for the first few days,” the astronaut said.
During 371 days in orbit, Rubio survived:
- Approximately 5936 revolutions around the Earth;
- Approximately 157,412,306 statutory miles were flown (equivalent to approximately 328 round trips to the moon);
- Fifteen spacecraft have visited the International Space Station, including four Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Signus ships, two Roscosmos Soyuz ships, four SpaceX Dragon manned spacecraft, and three SpaceX Dragon unmanned spacecraft.
After undergoing medical examinations, the crew will return to Karaganda and Kazakhstan. Rubio will then board a NASA plane bound for Houston, where he lives with his family.
