Title: Space Station Crew Completes Record-Breaking Yearlong Mission, prepares for return to Earth
Date: [Insert Date]
Outgoing space station commander Sergei Prokopyev and his two crewmates, co-pilot Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, are set to make their return to Earth after completing the longest flight in U.S. space history. The trio spent a remarkable 371 days in orbit, surpassing the original six-month mission duration.
Initially launched in September 2022, Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio were expecting a standard six-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). However, a coolant leak forced their Soyuz MS-22/68S ferry ship out of service last December. To ensure the smooth running of the Russian crew-rotation schedule, the Russians launched a replacement spacecraft, Soyuz MS-23/69S, in February. This unexpected development extended the duration of Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio’s mission by an additional six months.
If all goes as planned, the crew will undock from the ISS on Wednesday at 3:54 a.m. EDT. Following a fiery reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, the Soyuz crew module will make a parachute-assisted landing near the town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan at 7:17 a.m. EDT (5:17 p.m. local time).
During a change-of-command ceremony on Tuesday, ISS Expedition 69 commander Prokopyev handed over control of the lab to European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen. Mogensen commended the departing crew members for their resilience, professionalism, and grace in the face of unexpected challenges and uncertainty.
Mogensen expressed his gratitude to Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio for their dedication, hard work, and role in setting up the ISS for the next expedition. He wished them a smooth return journey and a gentle landing, emphasizing that no one deserves to reunite with their families more than the departing crew.
Replacing Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio aboard the ISS will be Soyuz MS-24/70S commander Oleg Kononenko, flight engineer Nicolai Chub, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, who arrived at the space station on September 15.
As the crew prepares to bid farewell to their station crewmates, they will enter the replacement Soyuz ferry ship, waiting for undocking from the Russian multi-port Prichal module.
The completion of their mission will account for a total of 370 days, 21 hours, and 22 minutes spent off the planet, covering 5,936 orbits and 157 million miles. With this extended mission, Prokopyev will have spent a cumulative total of 568 days in space over two flights.
Although they will not break the all-time record held by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 438 consecutive days aboard the Russian Mir space station, Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio will claim the third spot on the list, just behind retired cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev, who spent 380 days on Mir.
This mission also sets a new milestone for the United States, with the longest previous U.S. spaceflight record held by astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who spent 355 days aboard the ISS from 2021 to 2022.
In their dedicated work and groundbreaking achievements, Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio have further expanded our understanding of long-duration space missions. Their incredible journey serves as a testament to human resilience, pushing the boundaries of space exploration and paving the way for future missions to come.
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