Three Astronauts Return to Earth, One After Setting US Space Record Written 28 September 2023
Expedition 69 Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE return the station’s Treadmill 2 to its normal configuration inside the ISS's Tranquility module after an inspection and cleaning of its electronic components. | Credit: NASA
The AP reports that a NASA astronaut and “two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest U.S. spaceflight – a result of the extended stay.” The trio landed in “a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that was rushed up as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station.” What should have been “a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay. Rubio spent more than two weeks longer in space than Mark Vande Hei, who held NASA’s previous endurance record for a single spaceflight.”
Full Story (Associated Press)