The mission of Frank Rubio, Dmitri Petelin and Sergei Prokopiev ends with a record! No other occupant of the ISS had remained in orbit for so long. And it’s even a record duration for an American. A feat that they still owe to a leak which damaged the Soyuz MS-22 capsule.
They will finally return after more than a year of mission.
And if not, what are you doing next year?
This is a record which inevitably brings to mind the very long-term missions which took place on the Soviet (then Russian) Mir station at the end of the 1990s. For more than 15 years, these rotations of more than 300 days n had no longer taken place. Physiologically and psychologically, they require time to readjust, special monitoring, and in the context of rotations in low orbit, they do not provide a significant gain.
However, the agencies know it well, if one day they launch towards other planets, they will need endurance in the long term. The subject was revived in 2015-2016 during the “Year In Space” by Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, which ultimately only lasted 340 days. Then, in 2021-2022, with Piotr Dubrov and the American Mark Vande Hei, who remain 355 days on the International Space Station. This record was beaten yesterday by the current crew, with 356 days already on the clock!
A record story
The three record holders are therefore two Russians, Dmitri Petelin and Sergei Prokopiev, as well as the American Francisco Rubio, who will also extend this duration to around 371 days, since they will not leave the International Space Station until the 27th. september. Incidentally, as the old records for the Mir station are all held by Russians, Francisco Rubio becomes the American having carried out the longest mission in orbit, all for his first flight. He thus surpassed Christina Koch and her 328 days in orbit.
This record is far from being anecdotal, because it represents great efforts for those concerned, particularly athletes, to maintain their muscle mass and their medical conditions. When they are on Earth, some of their muscles will atrophy, and their bodies will have to get used to being on the ground again. However, when they took off on September 21, 2022, the three astronauts left from Baikonur for a mission of only 6 months. But their Soyuz MS-22 capsule suffered a coolant leak (due, according to Roscosmos, to an impact with a micrometeorite). The Russian agency then sent a replacement vehicle, Soyuz MS-23, empty last February, and it is in this that the three crew members will fit.
The replacements arrive
The three astronauts who should have taken off last February are ready to leave for the International Space Station with a few months’ delay. Thus, Oleg Kononenko, NikolaI Chub and the American Loral O’Hara are currently in Baikonur. They have carried out all the protocol visits, but also the final technical tests, while their rocket is in the final stages of its preparation.
All they have to do is rest before the launch scheduled for Friday, September 15 at the end of the afternoon (5:44 p.m., Paris time). This rotation will be organized differently, but Oleg Kononenko will also break a record by staying again for a very long mission: he will exceed the 1,000 days spent in orbit in 5 trips!
Source : NASA
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