![NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in front of the cupola window aboard the ISS. Credit: NASA](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/52456747373_415c139186_k.jpg)
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in front of the cupola window aboard the ISS. Credit: NASA
Throughout the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2023, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American citizen.
Rubio, 47, surpassed the record previously held by NASA’s Mark Vande Hei, who returned to Earth in March of 2022 after a 355.2-day stay aboard the International Space Station.
Rubio, together with two of his Russian colleagues, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, now even have the record of the longest serving crew aboard the ISS. They’re expected to depart the outpost in Soyuz MS-23 as early as Sept. 27, which might bring their total stay to simply over 371 days — greater than a full 12 months.
Only two other people, each cosmonauts serving aboard the Russian Mir space station, had longer stays in orbit: Sergei Avdeyev for 379.6 days in 1998/1999 and Valeri Polyakov for 437.7 days in 1994/1995.
Rubio, Prokopyev and Petlin launched to the space station on Sept. 21, 2022, for a planned six-month stay. Nonetheless, their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft suffered an external cooling loop leak in December, likely attributable to a micrometeoroid impact. This prompted Roscosmos to send up an uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 to act as a substitute for the compromised spacecraft.
With out a working external coolant loop, the inside of the Soyuz spacecraft would likely have gotten uncomfortably hot for the trio while of their launch and entry suits. As such, Soyuz MS-22 returned to Earth uncrewed.
The unique crew for Soyuz MS-23 was bumped to Soyuz MS-24, which is now scheduled to launch Sept. 15 with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and NASA’s Loral O’Hara. Those three are slated to reside aboard the ISS for about six months (likely longer for the 2 cosmonauts), replacing Rubio, Prokopyev and Petlin.
Also aboard the ISS are the 4 members of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission: NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. They arrived on the outpost in late August, also for a six-month stay.
Once Soyuz MS-23 departs with the yearlong crew, the remaining seven astronauts and cosmonauts will form Expedition 70.
![The three crewmembers of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft. Clockwise from top left are, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev. Credit: NASA](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53137241848_73d28277ea_k.jpg)
The three crewmembers of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft. Clockwise from top left are, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev. Credit: NASA