Text/GenieOo
He has been called the most "unlucky" astronaut in history, having been "forgotten" for 311 days in space. 29 years ago today, on March 25, 1992, when he was finally remembered to return to Earth, not only was he physically and mentally exhausted, but the CCCP aura on his armband had faded forever. What surprised him even more was that home was still that home, but his kingdom no longer existed...
As we all know, from the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "leading big brother" of the two camps of the East and the West, the Soviet Union and the United States, launched a crazy competition in the field of military equipment and high technology, and developed into a struggle for space hegemony. As early as 1957, the Soviet Union took the lead in successfully launching the world's first earth satellite; in 1961, it sent the first astronaut Gagarin into space; in 1986, it established mankind's first space base, the Mir space station. It can be seen that the scientific and technological strength of the Soviet Union at that time was extraordinary.
Born in 1958, Sergei Krikalev, who grew up tinkering with machinery, entered the former Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Mechanical Academy, and after completing his studies, worked in the Soviet space system and became a mechanical engineer. In 1985, he was successfully elected as an astronaut, realizing his dream for many years.
In 1988, Sergey began his first journey to space. On that occasion, he arrived at the Mir space station on the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft and returned to Earth after 151 days of work and life. Since the space station had just been established at that time, there were many technical uncertainties for astronauts to travel to and from the space station, so Sergey's first trip to space was not easy.
On May 18, 1991, Sergey boarded the Soyuz TM-12 spacecraft and began his second mission to the space station, mainly as a mechanical engineer. Also on the way this time were Commander Alz Bassky and Hitchhiker Helen Sherman, Britain's first astronaut, who returned to Earth after only 7 days on the space station. The mission was scheduled to return in October, and In addition to normal equipment maintenance and scientific experiments, Alzbasky and Sergey went out of the capsule for six spacewalks, setting a precedent for human travel through space.
Unexpectedly, from the summer of 1991, under the influence of complex internal and external reasons, the political situation in the Soviet Union began to be turbulent, the buildings would collapse, and finally collapsed in December 1991, and the huge Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 countries. The chaotic political situation and huge financial pressures have stalled the grand space development plan of the former Soviet Union, and the arrangements for taking astronauts home have also been delayed. Until the planned return time had passed, the two astronauts did not receive any instructions and information, lost contact with Earth, and did not know what was happening. If it were not for the assistance of NASA's living materials in the later stage, survival would be a problem.
It wasn't until October 1991 that a slightly stable Russia "remembered" the astronauts aboard Mir, but launching the Soyuz spacecraft required huge sums of money, and the launch site was already owned by Kazakhstan, and there was also a site fee. As a result, the Russian aerospace department could only sell the three only places on the Soyuz 13 spacecraft, and kazakh astronaut Alexander Volkov was successfully returned. Alliance 13's space trip still did not bring back Sergey. In the days that followed, only Volkov was with him, and no one knew when he would be able to return home.
In space, due to the effects of weightlessness, it is easy to cause many physical problems for astronauts - such as muscle atrophy, visual impairment and so on. It can be seen that the 311 days of staying in space have a huge impact and test on people's physiology and psychology, and they are very bearable. Originally, Sergey could have activated the emergency return capsule on the Mir space station to return to Earth, but he did not do so, because it would destroy Mir, which shows the value of his dedication to the country.
Finally, after the joint efforts of Russia and related countries, Sergei and Volkov finally returned home on March 25, 1992, and the spacecraft return module landed in the kazakh town of Akarik. For his dedication, Sergei was awarded the highest honorary title of hero of the Russian Federation.
After that, Sergey flew 4 more round-trip missions in space and participated in the U.S.-Russia space cooperation program, boarding mir aboard an American spacecraft. After Mir crashed in 1996, he also boarded the U.S.-led International Space Station. During his astronaut career, he lived in space for a total of 803 days and completed 8 out-of-cabin walks. The world record for the time of life in space he set has not been broken by anyone so far.
In 2007, Sergey retired as an astronaut and became deputy general manager of the Korolevo Rocket Energy Group, while continuing to contribute to the development of the space industry as director of the Gagarin Aerospace Training Center. He has also been invited to visit China many times to promote Sino-Russian space science and technology cooperation, and served as an honorary consultant of the Russian-Chinese Belt and Road Strategic Development Research Association. The astronaut Sergey, who has such a "legendary" story, is also known as the "last Soviet".
The picture of this article comes from the Internet.