Frank Rubio, a former NASA astronaut, said goodbye to the solar panels and modules that made up his home for 371 days with a few wave gestures, a quick photo shoot, and handshakes. The longest single spaceflight by an American to date came to an end when he left the International Space Station (ISS) and returned to Earth.
His duration in orbit was extended in March 2023 owing to a coolant leak in the spacecraft he and his crewmates were scheduled to return in. This stay in orbit beat the previous US record of 355 continuous days. Rubio was able to complete 5,963 orbits around the Earth, covering 157.4 million miles (253.3 million km), thanks to the additional months he spent in space. He was nearly two months short of the record for the longest human spaceflight, held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days on the Mir Space Station in the mid-1990s.
Rubio grinned broadly as he was hoisted off the Soyuz MS-23 spaceship following its safe return to Earth in a dust cloud.
