Francisco Rubio (astronaut)

Francisco Carlos "Frank" Rubio (born December 11, 1975) is an American flight surgeon, US Army colonel and helicopter pilot, and NASA astronaut. He holds the American record for the longest spaceflight at 371 days.

Early life and education
Francisco Rubio was born on December 11, 1975 to Salvadoran parents. As a child, he lived in El Salvador for the first six years of his life, after which his family moved to Miami, Florida, where he attended Miami Sunset Senior High School. He attended the United States Military Academy and earned a bachelor's degree in international relations.

Military career
After commissioning as a second lieutenant in the US Army, Rubio became a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. Rubio was a platoon leader in A Company, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment, and a company commander for A Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment. As a pilot, Rubio had over 1,100 hours of flying time, including 600 combat hours during operations in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Rubio received a Doctorate of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and completed a family medicine residency at Fort Benning. He served as a clinic supervisor and flight surgeon at Redstone Arsenal. At the time of his selection as an astronaut candidate, Rubio was the surgeon for 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson.

NASA career
In 2017, Rubio was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 and began his two-year training.

On July 15, 2022, NASA announced he would fly onboard Soyuz MS-22 on a mission to the International Space Station.

Rubio launched aboard Soyuz MS-22 alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin on September 21, 2022. His mission was originally planned to last around six months with a return to Earth in early 2023. However, damage to the spacecraft extended the mission, and Rubio returned to Earth with Soyuz MS-23 on September 27, 2023. This means he broke Mark T. Vande Hei's previous record for the longest spaceflight by an American astronaut with 371 days.

Personal life
Rubio and his wife, Deborah, have four children.

Awards and honors
Rubio has received the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Achievement Medal. He is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, and has earned the Senior US Army Aviator, Pathfinder, Air Assault, and the Parachutist badges. Rubio is the recipient of the very rare Army Astronaut Device.