There’s an astronomical opportunity in store for space lovers next week.
Record-breaking astronaut Frank Rubio will appear on NASA’s live YouTube channel at 4:15 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The topic: his current mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), for which he holds the record for the United States’ longest-ever space flight.
The ISS in orbit. Photo: Rawpixel
As of today, Rubio has spent the past 360 days twirling around the planet aboard the ISS. The previous U.S. record belonged to astronaut Mark Vande Hei, at 355 days. Tuesday’s media conference will mark Rubio’s final public appearance about the mission, which will end when he disembarks on Sept. 27 after 371 days in orbit.
Rubio’s record-breaking flight also represents his first as an astronaut. The Floridian launched from Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-22, along with a Russian crew, back on Sept. 21, 2022.
Rubio’s credentials include a Doctorate of Medicine and more than 600 hours of combat experience as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He holds multiple military combat medals including a Bronze Star.
However, he doesn’t hold the world record for the longest space flight. That still belongs to the late Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.
Polyakov logged a massive 437 continuous days in orbit aboard Russia’s Mir space station between January 1994 and March 1995. (Incidentally, Polyakov died just two days before Rubio’s current mission began.)
In addition to YouTube Live, the conference will also air on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency’s website.
