NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio and Crewmates Returning to Earth Live on NASA TV
(From left) NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are pictured. The three have undocked from the space station and are headed back to Earth.
NASA Television coverage of NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Roscosmos cosmonauts’ return to Earth is underway.
Rubio, along with Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, began the journey back to Earth in the early morning hours when the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station’s Prichal module at 3:54 a.m. EDT. The trio are heading for a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).
Expedition 70 officially began aboard the station at the time of undocking with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and new station commander Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov.
The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft undocks from the space station’s Prichal module. Aboard are NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin.
At 3:54 a.m. EDT NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, undocked from the International Space Station in the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to begin the journey back to Earth. The Soyuz is heading for a parachute-assisted landing Wednesday, Sept. 27, on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.
NASA coverage of the crew’s deorbit burn and landing will begin at 6 a.m. on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app with landing scheduled at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).
After landing, the Soyuz MS-23 crew will split up, as per standard crew return practice, with Rubio returning to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Expedition 70 officially began aboard the station at the time of undocking with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and new station commander Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov.
The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, docked to the station’s Prichal module, orbits Earth as crew prepares to undock. Credit: NASA TV
NASA Television coverage of NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Roscosmos cosmonauts’ departure from the International Space Station is underway.
Rubio, along with Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, closed the hatch to the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft about 12:41 a.m. EDT. The Soyuz spacecraft will undock at 3:54 a.m. from the Prichal module, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.
Rubio arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, spending 371 days in low Earth orbit, and breaking the previous American record held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei by 16 days.
While clocking the single longest spaceflight by a NASA astronaut, Rubio has contributed to dozens of scientific studies.
Rubio helped nurture and monitor vegetables harvested with the space station’s Vegetable Production System, or Veggie. The Veggie study evaluates protocols for growing produce in space, and whether plants grown in microgravity can help satisfy the dietary needs of astronauts on more distant spaceflight missions.
In addition, Rubio provided biological samples, completed surveys, and performed tests for a study that collects a core set of measurements from astronauts, called Spaceflight Standard Measures. The measurements serve as a baseline for how multiple systems in the body react to spaceflight, from human cognition to the immune system. Other biological samples will be frozen and archived for future life science studies.
Rubio also became the first astronaut to participate in a study examining how exercising with limited gym equipment affects the human body. Recognizing that crew members traveling to the Moon and elsewhere will not have enough room in their spacecraft for a treadmill, researchers are eager to determine whether other exercise regimens could keep crews healthy on long missions. So rather than running on the space station’s treadmill, Rubio exercised only on the space station’s bicycle and weightlifting machine.
At the time of undocking, Expedition 70 will formally begin aboard the station with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and new station commander Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov.
The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft is docked to the station’s Prichal module as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two cosmonauts prepare for departure. Credit: NASA TV
At 12:41 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to undock their Soyuz spacecraft at 3:54 a.m. to begin their journey back home.
Mission coverage will continue live on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app at the following times (all EDT):
6 a.m. – Deorbit burn and landing coverage begins (landing scheduled at 7:17 a.m. / 5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time)
The Soyuz will undock from the Prichal module, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.
The Soyuz MS-23 crew ship approaches the International Space Station’s Prichal docking module after undocking earlier from the Poisk module.
NASA Television coverage of NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Roscosmos cosmonauts’ end of mission aboard the International Space Station is underway.
Rubio, along with Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, will close the hatch to the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft at 12:40 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 27, to begin the journey back to Earth. The Soyuz will undock from the Rassvet module, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.
Mission coverage will air live on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app at the following times (all EDT):
6 a.m. – Deorbit burn and landing coverage begins (landing scheduled at 7:17 a.m. / 5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time)
Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin launched Sept. 21, 2022, on Soyuz MS-22, and will wrap up a 371-day mission spanning 5,936 orbits of Earth and more than 150 million miles. During the year-long mission, Rubio broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut, previously held at 355 days. This was the first space flight for Rubio and Petelin, and the second space flight for Prokopyev who is ending the mission with 568 cumulative days spent in space.
Following the undocking of the Soyuz with the trio aboard, Expedition 70 will formally begin aboard the station with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and new station commander Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov.
After landing, the Soyuz MS-23 crew will split up, as per standard crew return practice, with Rubio returning to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
