By The Associated Press
Salvadoran-born NASA astronaut Frank Rubio now holds the U.S. record for staying in space, surpassing the previous mark of 355 days on the International Space Station on Monday.
[An astronaut of Latino origin breaks a record of stay in space... because he got stranded]
Rubio arrived in September of last year with two Russian cosmonauts for a routine six-month stay. But the stay was prolonged when the Soyuz capsule suffered a loss of coolant while docked to the station.
Frank Rubio, NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 flight engineer, on the International Space Station in 2022.
The three will return to Earth on Sept. 27 in a replacement capsule sent unmanned. By then, Rubio will have spent 371 days in space, two weeks longer than Mark Vande Hei.
Russia has held the world record for its stay in space since the mid-1990s: 437 days.
[First Salvadoran astronaut becomes Santa's helper]
A replacement crew of two Russians and an American is preparing to leave Friday for NASA's space station from Kazakhstan.