DVIDS – News – USU Graduate, NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Mission in Space Extended

NASA astronaut Lt. Col. (Dr.) Frank Rubio’s adventures on the Worldwide Area Station can be prolonged in area till the autumn — placing the Uniformed Companies College graduate in potential rivalry for spending greater than a 12 months on the Area Station.

Rubio was slated to return to Earth in early Spring, following a six-month stint on the Area Station. Nonetheless, on Dec. 14, 2022, floor groups found a major coolant leak within the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to one of many modules on the Area Station. Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin traveled into area on board the Soyuz MS-22.

Based on NASA, engineers deemed the Soyuz MS-22 to not be viable for a traditional crew return, though they imagine it might be used within the occasion of an emergency aboard the Area Station. As an alternative, will probably be changed by the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft slated to enter area on Feb. 20, 2023. Rubio and his colleagues will return to Earth within the substitute Soyuz after spending a number of extra months on the station, which per NASA, is estimated to be “fall 2023”. The trio arrived on the Area Station on Sept. 21, 2022, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

“NASA has been working with [the Russian Space Agency,] Roscosmos, all through the investigation and can proceed to work with its Business Crew Program and Canadian, Japanese, and European companions to refine upcoming flight dates over the subsequent a number of weeks. NASA additionally continues its discussions with SpaceX concerning the opportunity of utilizing the Crew-5 spacecraft to return extra crew within the occasion of a station emergency previous to the arrival of Soyuz MS-23,” in accordance with the U.S. area company’s announcement.

To observe Rubio’s progress, go to NASA’s YouTube channel or weblog.nasa.gov.