Sergei Krikalev
Sergei Krikalev (Russian: Сергей
Крикалёв) was born in Leningrad, the Russian Soviet Socialist Federative
Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (Present-Day Saint
Petersburg, Russia) on August 27, 1958.
(Krilalev onboard the Mir Space
Station.)
In 1981, he received a Mechanical
Engineering Degree from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute (Baltic State
Technical University.)
Krikalev was selected as a Cosmonaut
in 1985, completed his Basic Training in 1986, and, for a time, was assigned to
the Buran Shuttle Program. In early 1988, he began training for his first
long-duration flight aboard the Mir Space Station.
The Cosmonaut who was stuck in
space for 311 days, 1991.
Krikalev spent a total of 803 days, 9 hours
and 39 minutes in total in outer Space.
On December 26th 1991, the Soviet
Union collapsed while Krikalev was still in Space.
Due to the Political Complications
that occurred during the Dissolution of the USSR (the Baikonur Cosmodrome and
the Landing Area both being located in the newly Independent Kazakhstan) there
was a great deal of uncertainty about the fate of his Mission.
Eventually, he returned to Earth
on March 25, 1992 (after Germany paid $24 Million to purchase a ticket for his
replacement, Klaus-Dietrich Flade since Russia was Bankrupt.)
While Krikalev was away many
things had changed:
The outskirts of Arkalykh, the City
where he landed, had ceased to be Soviet and had instead become part of the
independent Republic of Kazakhstan.
The City where he lived was no
longer called Leningrad—it had become St. Petersburg instead.
While in Space, he had orbited
Earth 5,000 times and the Territory of his own Country had shrunk by more than 16
Million Square Miles.
The Communist Party of the Soviet
Union, which had ruled the USSR since 1917, had ceased to be a Political Monopolist
and was instead just one of many Parties.
His monthly salary of 600 Soviet Rubles, which
at the time of his departure into Space was considered a good Salary for a Scientist,
had been Devalued. Now a Bus Driver earned twice as much.
Due to him being away from
Earth's gravity for so long, as well as time dilation, he is 0.02 seconds older
than People born at the same time as him.
Krikalev and Robert Cabana became
the first People to enter the International Space Station in December 1998,
when they turned on the lights in the US module Unity.
He is commonly referred to as
"The Last Soviet Citizen".
He retired in 2007.
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