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.
There wasn’t another Soyuz to launch a fresh crew until this month. Their replacements finally arrived nearly two weeks ago. Prokopyev told ground controllers throughout the descent that all three were feeling good. They experienced more than four times the force of gravity as their capsule streaked through the atmosphere and came to a touchdown in the barren Kazakh steppes. Helicopters moved in with recovery crews to fetch the astronauts.
Rubio, 47, an Army doctor and helicopter pilot, said at a news conference last week that he never would have agreed to a full year in space if asked at the outset. He ended up missing important family milestones including the oldest of his four children finishing her first year at the U.S. Naval Academy and another heading off to West Point.“Hugging my wife and kids is going to be paramount, and I’ll probably focus on that for the first couple days,” he said.
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Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. NASA's Frank Rubio sets US space recordA 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.
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Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. NASA's Frank Rubio sets US space recordA 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.
Read more »
Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. Frank Rubio sets US space recordA 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.
Read more »
Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. Frank Rubio sets US space recordA 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.
Read more »
Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. Frank Rubio sets US space recordA 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.
Read more »
Space capsule carrying U.S. astronaut Rubio and two Russian cosmonauts undocks from ISSMOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio, who broke the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by an American, and two Russian cosmonauts ...
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