--- title: "Astronaut Who Was Stranded in Space Laments Missing Thanksgiving and Child’s Graduation" description: "NASA astronaut Frank Rubio speaks about the struggles about an unexpectedly lengthy stay aboard the International Space Station." date: "2024-11-27" modified: "2024-11-27" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/frank-rubio-stranded-space-thanksgiving" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "international space station" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # Astronaut Who Was Stranded in Space Laments Missing Thanksgiving and Child’s Graduation ![NASA astronaut Frank Rubio speaks about the struggles about an unexpectedly lengthy stay aboard the International Space Station.]() *ZHEZKAZGAN, KAZAKHSTAN - SEPTEMBER 27: In this handout provided by NASA, Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio (L) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin are seen inside the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft just minutes after they and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on September 27, 2023. The trio are returning to Earth after logging 371 days in space as members of Expeditions 68-69 aboard the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images) \Image: Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images\* ## Lonely at the Top The [dismal failure of Boeing's Starliner]() spacecraft left [two NASA astronauts stranded]() aboard the International Space Station this year, meaning they won't be able to return home until this coming February. At that point, their return will be [more than half a year overdue](). This is something that fellow NASA astronaut Frank Rubio can sympathize with. He too was once left [marooned on the orbital outpost](), when the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that brought him there couldn't carry passengers on its return trip due to a radiator leak. What was supposed to be a six month rotation turned into longer than a year. It's the price you pay for being the elite of the elite. As a family man, some of the sacrifices Rubio's had to make were especially gut-wrenching, like not being there for his son's high school graduation or his daughter's send-off to college. And don't even think about the holidays: Christmas and Thanksgiving were pretty much a write-off. "There's a little bit of disappointment in knowing you miss those things as a father," Rubio [told *The Washington Post*]() in a new interview. ## Star Stuck Originally, the currently**-**stranded NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams were slated for just an eight day mission. But it will now last at least eight months. Their ride, the ill-fated Starliner, sprung helium leaks on the way there, while its thrusters malfunctioned. It was [deemed too dangerous]() to carry any passengers and instead went barreling back to Earth empty-seated. Another Starliner will not be coming to the rescue. That honor will be going to a [SpaceX Dragon Crew capsule]() — which is still months away. Unfortunately, Wilmore and William's winter festivities will have to be spent in the confines of the ISS, eating the astronaut equivalent of a TV dinner. "I think it's important to acknowledge it's not the ideal situation," Rubio told *WaPo*. "We're all humans, we all have expectations that kind of set the tone for things. So when you're expecting an eight- to 15-day mission, and you get the news that it's going to be longer, it's always going to be a little bit hard, mostly for personal reasons." ## Nightmare Layover Life as an astronaut aboard the International Space Station can be lonely, claustrophobic, tedious, and even grueling. You have to work out two hours everyday to stave off muscle atrophy that comes from living in microgravity. You look at the same "walls of computers, walls of cables," everyday, Rubio described. Your sole respite is the stunning view of Earth from a room called the cupola — and that's about it. "You only get to look out the cupola for a few minutes a day... so the monotony is something that you fight," he told *WaPo*. "You almost just block out the fact that it is repetitive and it is monotonous, because it is your job." Yeah, that's rough. To our stranded spacefarers: hang in there. **More on NASA:** *[NASA Says You Will Have to Ask the Russian Space Program About the Horrid Smell on the Space Station]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()