NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio, Crewmates Arrive Safely at Space Station

[NASA News Releases <hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

	September 21, 2022  RELEASE 22-099 NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio, Crewmates Arrive Safely at Space Station Expedition 68 Soyuz launch The Soyuz MS-22 rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos aboard, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in March 2023. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station Wednesday, bringing its number of residents to 10 for the coming week. The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft carrying Rubio, as well as Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos, docked to the station’s Rassvet module at 1:06 p.m. EDT. Following two orbits, docking occurred about three hours after a 9:54 a.m. launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin will join the Expedition 67 crew when hatches open about 3:45 p.m. Expedition 68 will begin Thursday, Sept. 29, on the departure of Roscosmos cosmonauts Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, and outgoing station commander Oleg Artemyev. The trio will land in Kazakhstan following a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. This marks the first spaceflight for Rubio, the second for Prokopyev, and the first for Petelin. Throughout their six-month stay aboard the orbital outpost, the trio will work on science and research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research, and more. During Expedition 68, the arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 aboard Dragon Endurance will bring four more crew members to the space station. That crew currently is scheduled for launch Monday, Oct. 3, for a short handover period with Crew-4 astronauts prior to their return to Earth shortly after. Learn more about space station activities at: https://www.nasa.gov/station -end-
	Press Contacts Joshua Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@xxxxxxxx Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@xxxxxxxx
	NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.gov (no subject or text in the body is required). To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).