Francisco Rubio (astronaut)

Francisco Rubio was born on December 11, 1975, in Los Angeles, California, to Salvadoran parents.[3][4] 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.[3][5]

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.[3]

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.[3]

In 2017, Rubio was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22, and began his two-year training.[3][6]

On July 15, 2022, NASA announced he would fly on board Soyuz MS-22 on a mission to the International Space Station.[7]

Rubio launched aboard Soyuz MS-22 on September 21, 2022. His mission was 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 in September 2023 — 370.6 days later. Thus, he became the first American to spend a full year or more in space, breaking Mark T. Vande Hei's record for the longest spaceflight by an American astronaut.[8]

Rubio and his wife, Deborah, have four children.[3][4]

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.[3]