Because of this political upheaval, Krikalev had to remain in space for 311 days. Here is his story.

His job included testing equipment, developing methods for space operations, and working in ground control. Krikalev was chosen to serve as a cosmonaut in 1985 and in 1988 began training for his first flight to the Mir space station. 

Sergei Krikalev was one of the team members that planned an incredible in-orbit rescue mission to save his colleagues. He was awarded his cosmonaut wings after that, and by 1988, he’d already completed his first flight, a mission to the new Mir station.

In April 1990, Krikalev began preparing for his second flight as a member of the backup crew for the eighth long-duration Mir mission, which also included five EVAs (extravehicular activities) and a week of Soviet-Japanese operations. In December 1990, Krikalev began training for the ninth Mir mission which included training for ten EVAs. 

As a dedicated cosmonaut with extensive training, he knew that he could never practice or learn too much. He and his fellow cosmonauts had rigid testing and fitness routines that kept them busy all day in their training facility. He wanted to prepare for this mission carefully, but little did he know how his training would be tested.

Cathleen Lewis of the National Air and Space Museum explains their mental state at the time of liftoff: “Cosmonauts, as astronauts, are generalists, and they’re there to tend to scientific experiments,”  The three travelers intended to complete their assigned tasks, maintain the space station, and then return home, mission completed.

These changes changed the amount of control that the Communist party had over all of the nations included within it, including the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Many members of the Communist party were unhappy with these changes and staged a coup in August 1991 which failed.

By December, the republics began to break apart and create the Commonwealth of Independent States. This change was led by Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, and signed by nine other former republics. On Christmas Day 1991, Gorbachev decided that he no longer had control of the USSR and resigned as president.  

As military tanks rolled through Moscow’s Red Square trying to keep order Sergei Krikalev was 350 kilometers away from Earth on the Mir space station. The press nicknamed him “the last citizen of the USSR.” Krikalev was told that he could not return home because the USSR, which had sent him into space, no longer existed.

Krikalev understood that his homeland was in crisis and that since he was safe in the space station, there was probably no urgency on the part of the ground control team to bring him home. He also understood that the money needed to spend on space missions was probably being redirected to political and internal needs.

With the complete chaos reigning in the country, the space industry was severely affected. Krikalev immediately asked when he could return and was told to wait a month for a response. When he asked again a month later, he got the same response.

Kirkalev was devoted to his mission, no matter what was going on in his home country. Despite the political upheaval, he had a task to complete – the maintenance of the space station. He could not abandon it without knowing when he or someone else would return.

He and his medical team worried about effects such as muscle atrophy, radiation, cancer risk, and his immune system becoming weaker with every passing day, which are just some of the possible consequences of a protracted space mission. mission.

Russia even considered selling the space station. However, even if that happened Krikalev, who was the only flight engineer, would have to remain while the other cosmonauts could return home. He was literally stuck in space.  

They had a 9-month-old daughter and Yelena tried to keep the conversations light and avoid the difficulty she was having just living day to day. Feeding herself and her child was difficult for Yelena, seeing that, because of the financial crisis, Krikalev was only paid about 600 rubles each month ($4.80 in today’s money).   

In fact, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare independence. Ten days later, the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist.  With that decision, Krikalev officially had to reconsider any plans to land in what was no longer Russian territory.

It must have been mind-boggling for Krikalev to comprehend that while he was in space, the size of his home country had decreased by more than 5 million kilometers. 

“The change is not that radical,” said at a press conference, “I lived on the territory of Russia, while the republics were united into the Soviet Union. Now I have returned to Russia, which is part of the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

Krikalev and Volkov were often too busy to check on what was happening on the ground. Every day on the space station involved a list of checks and tests that had to be carried out in order to keep the vehicle in top condition.

After all, Krikalev was one of the specialists who was working ground control when the Salyut-7 lost communications and was almost lost. He knew what it meant to keep everything in perfect working order, and was not about to let anyone down.

They found ways to keep themselves entertained and in good shape, including exercising daily. It was important to keep their strength up since the long period in low gravity was very hard on their bodies. Several transports visited them during their long stay to keep them supplied with food and medications.

In 1985, the Salyut-7 station had been left unoccupied and then malfunctioned, tumbling out of control. It could have re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and crashed into the ground, harming innocent people. The craft was eventually brought under control; this was one lesson the Soviet space program would never forget.  

That day, a pale, weakened man exited the Soyuz capsule. Several officers had to help him move due to his inability to withstand full gravity after the many months on the space station. This weakness would be a problem for the rest of his life.

His uniform had the letters “USSR’ on it, but the world breathed a sigh of relief as his colleagues helped him out of the capsule, gave him a warm coat, and handed him a bowl of soup.   

After that mission was completed, he kept up his training for future missions. He was not in any way interested in ending his space career. All told, he spent 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space and completed eight spacewalks.

He also was named commander of the International Space Station in 2005. And in 2007, Krikalev became the director of human spaceflight at the Russian state space agency, Roscosmos, a post he still holds. His dedication to the field of space exploration only strengthened after his 311-day ordeal, and he was not about to put a hold on his career.

Roscosmos also manages the development and manufacturing of space equipment and technical needs and is involved in international space efforts.  In 2017 Roscosmos and NASA signed a joint agreement to focus on deep space exploration, which led the way for other countries to co-sign the agreement and move forward together.

The ISS is a “co-operative programme” between Europe, the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan, so it is not owned by one single country. It costs about $3 billion per year for NASA to operate, and has been continuously occupied since Nov. 2, 2000.

He is now in his sixties, and still lives with physical difficulties resulting from his prolonged time in space. He has to have regular bone density checks and other tests to ensure that he does not suffer any other infirmities.

When faced with a seemingly insurmountable situation, he did not waver in his promise to do his job, and do it well. He simply kept at his task, accepting the situation, and making the best of it. He shows what it means to be a dedicated professional.