Sergei Krikalev
Encyclopedia
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev (Russian
: Сергей Константинович Крикалёв, also transliterated as Sergei Krikalyov, born August 27, 1958) is a Russia
n cosmonaut and mechanical engineer. As a prominent rocket scientist, he has been veteran of six space flights and currently has spent more time in space than any other human being.
On August 16, 2005 at 1:44 a.m. EDT he passed the record of 748 days held by Sergei Avdeyev
. He now has spent a total of 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
Krikalev was born in Leningrad
(now St. Petersburg
), Russia
. He enjoys swimming, skiing, cycling, aerobatic flying, and amateur radio
operations, particularly from space (callsigns U5MIR and X75M1K).
On February 15, 2007, Krikalev was appointed Vice President of the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
(Russian: Ракетно-космическая корпорация "Энергия" им. С.П.Королева) in charge of manned space flights. In that capacity, he is the administrator of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center
.
Krikalev was dubbed by many "the last Citizen of the USSR " as in 1991–1992 he spent 311 days, 20 hours and 1 minute aboard the Mir
space station while, back on Earth, the Soviet Union
collapsed.. These events are documented and contextualized in Romanian filmmaker Andrei Ujică
's groundbreaking 1995 documentary "Out of the Present". A fictional account of how Krikalev may have felt about this is described in the song "Casiopea
", written by Cuba
n songwriter Silvio Rodríguez
.
Although "Krikalyov" may be a more accurate transliteration, "Krikalev" is more common and is used in the NASA and Energia biographies of him.
degree from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute
, now called Baltic State Technical University
.
national aerobatic flying teams, and was Champion of Moscow
in 1983, and Champion of the Soviet Union
in 1986. For his space flight experience, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
, the Order of Lenin
, the French
title of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur
, and the new title of Hero of the Russian Federation
. He also has been awarded the NASA
Space Flight Medal (1994, 1998).
He overtook Sergei Avdeyev
's previous record for the career total time spent in space (747.59 days) during Expedition 11
to the International Space Station
. Krikalev has logged a total 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
On 23 May 2007 Sergei Krikalev was selected as an honorable citizen of Saint Petersburg together with conductor Valery Gergiev
.
space station failed in 1985, he worked on the rescue mission team, developing procedures for docking with the uncontrolled station and repairing the station’s on-board system.
space station.
This training included preparations for at least six EVA
s (space walks), installation of a new module, the first test of the new Manned Maneuvering Unit
(MMU), and the second joint Soviet-French science mission. Soyuz TM-7
was launched on November 26, 1988, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Alexander Volkov
, and French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien
. The previous crew (Vladimir Titov
, Musa Manarov, and Valeri Polyakov) remained on Mir for another 25 days, marking the longest period a six-person crew had been in orbit. After the previous crew returned to Earth, Krikalev, Polyakov, and Volkov continued to conduct experiments aboard the Mir station. Because arrival of the next crew had been delayed, they prepared the Mir for a period of unmanned operations before returning to Earth on April 27, 1989.
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 and a week of Soviet-Japanese operations. In December 1990, Krikalev began training for the ninth Mir mission which included training for ten EVAs. Soyuz TM-12
launched on May 19, 1991, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Anatoly Artsebarsky
, and British astronaut Helen Sharman
. Sharman returned to Earth with the following crew after one week, while Krikalev and Artsebarsky remained on Mir. During the summer, they conducted six EVAs to perform a variety of experiments and some station maintenance tasks.
In July 1991, Krikalev agreed to stay on Mir as flight engineer for the next crew, scheduled to arrive in October because the next two planned flights had been reduced to one. The engineer slot on the Soyuz TM-13
flight on October 2, 1991, was filled by Toktar Aubakirov
, an astronaut from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan
, who had not been trained for a long-duration mission. Both he and Franz Viehböck
, the first Austrian astronaut, returned with Artsebarsky on 10 October 1991. Commander Alexander Volkov
remained on board with Krikalev. After the crew replacement in October, Volkov and Krikalev continued Mir experiment operations and conducted another EVA before returning to Earth on March 25, 1992, having been in space when the Soviet Union was dissolved December 26, 1991.
In October 1992, NASA announced that an experienced cosmonaut would fly aboard a future Space Shuttle
mission. Krikalev was one of two candidates named by the Russian Space Agency for mission specialist training with the crew of STS-60
. In April 1993, he was assigned as prime mission specialist. In September 1993, Vladimir Titov was selected to fly on STS-63 with Krikalev training as his back-up.
Krikalev flew on STS-60, the first joint U.S./Russian Space Shuttle Mission. Launched on February 3, 1994, STS-60 was the second flight of the Space Habitation Module-2
(Spacehab-2), and the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility
(WSF-1). During the eight-day flight, the crew of Discovery
conducted a wide variety of materials science experiments, both on the Wake Shield Facility and in the Spacehab, earth observation, and life science experiments. Krikalev conducted significant portions of the Remote Manipulator System
(RMS) operations during the flight. Following 130 orbits of the Earth in 3439705 nautical miles (6,370,334 km), STS-60 landed at Kennedy Space Center
, Florida
, on 11 February 1994. With the completion of this flight, Krikalev logged an additional eight days, seven hours, nine minutes in space.
Krikalev returned to duty in Russia following his American experience on STS-60. Periodically he returned to the Johnson Space Center in Houston
to work with CAPCOM in Mission Control
and ground controllers in Russia supporting joint U.S./Russian Missions. To date he has supported STS-63, STS-71
, STS-74
and STS-76
.
Krikalev and Robert Cabana
become the first people to enter the ISS
in December, 1998, when they turned on the lights in the US module Unity
.
Krikalev flew on STS-88
Endeavour
(4–15 December 1998), the first International Space Station assembly mission. During the 12-day mission the Unity Module was mated with Zarya
module. Two crew members performed three space walks to connect umbilicals and attach tools/hardware for use in future EVAs. The crew also performed IMAX
Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) operations, and deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1 and SAC-A. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.
crew. They launched October 31, 2000, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur
launch site in Kazakhstan, successfully docking with the station on November 2, 2000. During their stay on the station they prepared the inside of the orbital outpost for future crews. They also saw the station grow in size with the installation of the U.S. solar array structure and the U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module. They left the station with the STS-102
crew, undocking from the station on 18 March with landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 21 March 2001.
Krikalev was also the Commander of Expedition 11
. He lived and worked aboard the International Space Station
on a six-month tour of duty. This was the third time he had flown to the International Space Station
. Expedition 11 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan on 14 April 2005 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and docked with the ISS on 16 April 2005. Following 8 days of joint operations and handover briefings, they replaced the Expedition 10
crew who returned to earth aboard Soyuz. Expedition 11 plans called for two spacewalks, the first in August from the US Quest Airlock in US spacesuits, and the second, in September, in Russian spacesuits from the Pirs airlock.
Expedition 11
undocked from the ISS on 10 October 2005 at 5:49 p.m. EDT and landed in Kazakhstan on 10 October 2005 at 9:09 p.m. EDT. They were replaced by William S. McArthur
and Valery Tokarev
, the crew of Expedition 12
.
In completing his sixth space flight, Krikalev has logged 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space, including eight EVAs. He currently holds the record for the most time spent in space.
Krikalev's contributions to the ISS were not limited to his on-orbit time. On June 15, 2007, it was Krikalev himself who was brought into the Russian Mission Control center to instruct Expedition 15
Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov
in how he and ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin
could jump-start the Russian segment's crippled computer systems.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Сергей Константинович Крикалёв, also transliterated as Sergei Krikalyov, born August 27, 1958) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n cosmonaut and mechanical engineer. As a prominent rocket scientist, he has been veteran of six space flights and currently has spent more time in space than any other human being.
On August 16, 2005 at 1:44 a.m. EDT he passed the record of 748 days held by Sergei Avdeyev
Sergei Avdeyev
Sergei Avdeyev is a Russian engineer and cosmonaut.Avdeyev was born in Chapayevsk, Samara Oblast , Russian SFSR. He graduated from in 1979 as an engineer-physicist. From 1979 to 1987 he worked as an engineer for NPO Energiya...
. He now has spent a total of 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
Krikalev was born in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
(now St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
), Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He enjoys swimming, skiing, cycling, aerobatic flying, and amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
operations, particularly from space (callsigns U5MIR and X75M1K).
On February 15, 2007, Krikalev was appointed Vice President of the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
OAO S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia , also known as RKK Energiya, is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components...
(Russian: Ракетно-космическая корпорация "Энергия" им. С.П.Королева) in charge of manned space flights. In that capacity, he is the administrator of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center
The Yu. A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center is a Russian training facility responsible for training cosmonauts for their space missions...
.
Krikalev was dubbed by many "the last Citizen of the USSR " as in 1991–1992 he spent 311 days, 20 hours and 1 minute aboard the Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space station while, back on Earth, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
collapsed.. These events are documented and contextualized in Romanian filmmaker Andrei Ujică
Andrei Ujica
Andrei Ujica is a Romanian screenwriter and director.- Life and works :Ujica studied literature in Timişoara, Bucharest and Heidelberg. He moved to Germany in 1981. In 1990 he began making films...
's groundbreaking 1995 documentary "Out of the Present". A fictional account of how Krikalev may have felt about this is described in the song "Casiopea
Cassiopeia A
Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia and the brightest astronomical radio source in the sky, with a flux density of 2720 Jy at 1 GHz. The supernova occurred approximately away in the Milky Way. The expanding cloud of material left over from the supernova is now...
", written by Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n songwriter Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez is a Cuban musician, and a leader of the nueva trova movement.He is considered Cuba's best known folk singer and known for his highly eloquent and symbolic lyrics. Many of his songs have become classics in Latin American music, such as Ojalá, Playa Girón, Unicornio and...
.
Although "Krikalyov" may be a more accurate transliteration, "Krikalev" is more common and is used in the NASA and Energia biographies of him.
Education
He graduated from high school in 1975. In 1981, received mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
degree from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute
Baltic State Technical University
Baltic State Technical University "Voenmeh" D.F.Ustinov is a major Russian military technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Leningrad Mechanical Institute and Military Mechanical Institute .-Faculties:...
, now called Baltic State Technical University
Baltic State Technical University
Baltic State Technical University "Voenmeh" D.F.Ustinov is a major Russian military technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Leningrad Mechanical Institute and Military Mechanical Institute .-Faculties:...
.
Special honors
He was a member of the Russian and SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
national aerobatic flying teams, and was Champion of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1983, and Champion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1986. For his space flight experience, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
, the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
title of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and the new title of Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
. He also has been awarded the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Space Flight Medal (1994, 1998).
He overtook Sergei Avdeyev
Sergei Avdeyev
Sergei Avdeyev is a Russian engineer and cosmonaut.Avdeyev was born in Chapayevsk, Samara Oblast , Russian SFSR. He graduated from in 1979 as an engineer-physicist. From 1979 to 1987 he worked as an engineer for NPO Energiya...
's previous record for the career total time spent in space (747.59 days) during Expedition 11
Expedition 11
Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....
to the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. Krikalev has logged a total 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
On 23 May 2007 Sergei Krikalev was selected as an honorable citizen of Saint Petersburg together with conductor Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
.
Energia
After graduation in 1981, he joined NPO Energia, the Russian industrial organization responsible for manned space flight activities. He tested space flight equipment, developed space operations methods, and participated in ground control operations. When the Salyut 7Salyut 7
Salyut 7 was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first manned in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including a total of 12 manned and 15 unmanned launches...
space station failed in 1985, he worked on the rescue mission team, developing procedures for docking with the uncontrolled station and repairing the station’s on-board system.
Mir
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 MirMir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space station.
This training included preparations for at least six EVA
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
s (space walks), installation of a new module, the first test of the new Manned Maneuvering Unit
Manned Maneuvering Unit
The Manned Maneuvering Unit is an astronaut propulsion unit which was used by NASA on three space shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered EVA spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. The MMU was used in practice to retrieve a pair of faulty communications...
(MMU), and the second joint Soviet-French science mission. Soyuz TM-7
Soyuz TM-7
-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,000 kg 15,400 lb*Perigee: 194 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6°*Period: 88.8 minutes-Mission highlights:...
was launched on November 26, 1988, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Alexander Volkov
Alexander Alexandrovich Volkov (cosmonaut)
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov is a Russian cosmonaut.At the age of 13, Volkov witnessed Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space and this inspired him to become a cosmonaut...
, and French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien
Jean-Loup Chrétien
Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien, is a French engineer, a retired Général de Brigade in the Armée de l'Air , and a former CNES astronaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions and a NASA Space Shuttle mission...
. The previous crew (Vladimir Titov
Vladimir Titov
Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov , Colonel, Russian Air Force, Ret., and former Russian cosmonaut was born January 1, 1947, in Sretensk, in the Zabaykalsky Krai region of Russia. He is married to the former Alexandra Kozlova of Ivanovo Region, Russia...
, Musa Manarov, and Valeri Polyakov) remained on Mir for another 25 days, marking the longest period a six-person crew had been in orbit. After the previous crew returned to Earth, Krikalev, Polyakov, and Volkov continued to conduct experiments aboard the Mir station. Because arrival of the next crew had been delayed, they prepared the Mir for a period of unmanned operations before returning to Earth on April 27, 1989.
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 and a week of Soviet-Japanese operations. In December 1990, Krikalev began training for the ninth Mir mission which included training for ten EVAs. Soyuz TM-12
Soyuz TM-12
-Mission highlights:12th expedition to Mir. Included first Briton in space.The Derbents welcomed aboard Mir Anatoli Artsebarski, Sergei Krikalev , and British cosmonaut-researcher Helen Sharman, who was aboard as part of Project Juno, a cooperative venture partly sponsored by British private...
launched on May 19, 1991, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Anatoly Artsebarsky
Anatoly Artsebarsky
Anatoly Pavlovich Artsebarsky is a former Soviet cosmonaut.He became a cosmonaut in 1985. Artsebarsky has spent almost 5 months in space on a single spaceflight. In 1991, he flew aboard Soyuz TM-12 and docked with the Mir Space Station. Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev stayed aboard Mir while the...
, and British astronaut Helen Sharman
Helen Sharman
Helen Patricia Sharman, OBE PhD , is a British chemist. She was the first Briton in space, visiting the Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991....
. Sharman returned to Earth with the following crew after one week, while Krikalev and Artsebarsky remained on Mir. During the summer, they conducted six EVAs to perform a variety of experiments and some station maintenance tasks.
In July 1991, Krikalev agreed to stay on Mir as flight engineer for the next crew, scheduled to arrive in October because the next two planned flights had been reduced to one. The engineer slot on the Soyuz TM-13
Soyuz TM-13
-Mission highlights:13th expedition to Mir. Included astronaut from Austria and cosmonaut from soon to be independent Kazakhstan.Soyuz-TM 13 carried Austrian cosmonaut-researcher Franz Viehböck and still Soviet-Kazakh cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. The flight was unusual for carrying no...
flight on October 2, 1991, was filled by Toktar Aubakirov
Toktar Aubakirov
Toktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov is a retired Kazakhstani Air Force officer and a former cosmonaut .-Early life:Toktar Aubakirov was born on July 27, 1946 in Karaganda, Kazakh SSR, which is now Kazakhstan...
, an astronaut from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, who had not been trained for a long-duration mission. Both he and Franz Viehböck
Franz Viehböck
Franz Artur Viehböck is an Austrian electrical engineer, and was Austria's first astronaut. He visited the Mir space station in 1991 aboard Soyuz TM-13, returning aboard Soyuz TM-12 after spending just over a week in space....
, the first Austrian astronaut, returned with Artsebarsky on 10 October 1991. Commander Alexander Volkov
Alexander Alexandrovich Volkov (cosmonaut)
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov is a Russian cosmonaut.At the age of 13, Volkov witnessed Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space and this inspired him to become a cosmonaut...
remained on board with Krikalev. After the crew replacement in October, Volkov and Krikalev continued Mir experiment operations and conducted another EVA before returning to Earth on March 25, 1992, having been in space when the Soviet Union was dissolved December 26, 1991.
Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
mission. Krikalev was one of two candidates named by the Russian Space Agency for mission specialist training with the crew of STS-60
STS-60
STS-60 was the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
. In April 1993, he was assigned as prime mission specialist. In September 1993, Vladimir Titov was selected to fly on STS-63 with Krikalev training as his back-up.
Krikalev flew on STS-60, the first joint U.S./Russian Space Shuttle Mission. Launched on February 3, 1994, STS-60 was the second flight of the Space Habitation Module-2
SPACEHAB
Astrotech Corporation , formerly Spacehab Inc., is an aerospace company headquartered in Austin, Texas which provides commercial space products and services to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, international space agencies, and global commercial customers...
(Spacehab-2), and the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility
Wake Shield Facility
]Wake Shield Facility is an experimental science platform that was placed in low-earth orbit by the Space Shuttle. It is a 3.7 meter diameter, free-flying stainless steel disk....
(WSF-1). During the eight-day flight, the crew of Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
conducted a wide variety of materials science experiments, both on the Wake Shield Facility and in the Spacehab, earth observation, and life science experiments. Krikalev conducted significant portions of the Remote Manipulator System
SRMS
The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System , or Canadarm , was a mechanical arm used on the Space Shuttle to maneuver a payload from the payload bay of the orbiter to its deployment position and then release it. It can also grapple a free-flying payload, maneuver it to the payload bay of the orbiter...
(RMS) operations during the flight. Following 130 orbits of the Earth in 3439705 nautical miles (6,370,334 km), STS-60 landed at Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, on 11 February 1994. With the completion of this flight, Krikalev logged an additional eight days, seven hours, nine minutes in space.
Krikalev returned to duty in Russia following his American experience on STS-60. Periodically he returned to the Johnson Space Center in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
to work with CAPCOM in Mission Control
Mission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
and ground controllers in Russia supporting joint U.S./Russian Missions. To date he has supported STS-63, STS-71
STS-71
STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first Space Shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station. The mission used Space Shuttle Atlantis, which lifted off from launch pad 39A on 27 June 1995 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
, STS-74
STS-74
STS-74 was a Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to the Mir space station. It was the fourth mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, and it carried out the second docking of a space shuttle to Mir. Atlantis lifted off for the mission on 12 November 1995 from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A,...
and STS-76
STS-76
STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 3:13 am EST from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39B...
.
Krikalev and Robert Cabana
Robert D. Cabana
Robert Donald Cabana is the director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights. He is also a former Naval Flight Officer and Naval Aviator in the United States Marine Corps.-Personal:...
become the first people to enter the ISS
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
in December, 1998, when they turned on the lights in the US module Unity
Unity Module
thumb|right|300px|ISS Unity connecting module The Unity connecting module was the first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station....
.
Krikalev flew on STS-88
STS-88
-Mission parameters:*Weight*Liftoff: *Landing: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Orbital Period: 92.4min-Launch attempts:-Mission highlights:Node 1, named Unity, was the first space station hardware delivered by the space shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters , one attached to either end...
Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
(4–15 December 1998), the first International Space Station assembly mission. During the 12-day mission the Unity Module was mated with Zarya
Zarya
Zarya , also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB , was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly...
module. Two crew members performed three space walks to connect umbilicals and attach tools/hardware for use in future EVAs. The crew also performed IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) operations, and deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1 and SAC-A. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.
International Space Station
Krikalev was a member of the Expedition 1Expedition 1
Expedition 1, or Expedition One, was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of...
crew. They launched October 31, 2000, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur
Baikonur
Baikonur , formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.The shape of the...
launch site in Kazakhstan, successfully docking with the station on November 2, 2000. During their stay on the station they prepared the inside of the orbital outpost for future crews. They also saw the station grow in size with the installation of the U.S. solar array structure and the U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module. They left the station with the STS-102
STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
crew, undocking from the station on 18 March with landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 21 March 2001.
Krikalev was also the Commander of Expedition 11
Expedition 11
Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....
. He lived and worked aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
on a six-month tour of duty. This was the third time he had flown to the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. Expedition 11 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
in Kazakhstan on 14 April 2005 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and docked with the ISS on 16 April 2005. Following 8 days of joint operations and handover briefings, they replaced the Expedition 10
Expedition 10
Expedition 10 was the 10th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-5, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Perigee: 384 km...
crew who returned to earth aboard Soyuz. Expedition 11 plans called for two spacewalks, the first in August from the US Quest Airlock in US spacesuits, and the second, in September, in Russian spacesuits from the Pirs airlock.
Expedition 11
Expedition 11
Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....
undocked from the ISS on 10 October 2005 at 5:49 p.m. EDT and landed in Kazakhstan on 10 October 2005 at 9:09 p.m. EDT. They were replaced by William S. McArthur
William S. McArthur
William Surles McArthur, Jr. is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule.-Army career:...
and Valery Tokarev
Valery Tokarev
Valeri Ivanovich Tokarev , Russian Air Force Colonel and test cosmonaut at the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, was born October 29, 1952 in the town of Kap-Yar, Astrakhan Oblast and currently resides at Star City, Moscow Region. He has traveled to space twice and has performed two career...
, the crew of Expedition 12
Expedition 12
Expedition 12 was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft...
.
In completing his sixth space flight, Krikalev has logged 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes in space, including eight EVAs. He currently holds the record for the most time spent in space.
Krikalev's contributions to the ISS were not limited to his on-orbit time. On June 15, 2007, it was Krikalev himself who was brought into the Russian Mission Control center to instruct Expedition 15
Expedition 15
Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station . Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's duration only three were on the station at any one time...
Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov
Oleg Kotov
Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov was born October 27, 1965, in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a military pilot, he joined the Russian cosmonaut corps. He has flown two long duration spaceflight on the International Space Station logging just short of a year in space...
in how he and ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin
Fyodor Yurchikhin
Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin , is a Russian cosmonaut and RSC Energia test-pilot who has flown on three spaceflights. His first spaceflight was a 10-day Space Shuttle mission STS-112. His second was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station as a Flight Engineer for Expedition...
could jump-start the Russian segment's crippled computer systems.
Missions
- Soyuz TM-7Soyuz TM-7-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,000 kg 15,400 lb*Perigee: 194 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6°*Period: 88.8 minutes-Mission highlights:...
: Launched November 26, 1988 - Soyuz TM-12Soyuz TM-12-Mission highlights:12th expedition to Mir. Included first Briton in space.The Derbents welcomed aboard Mir Anatoli Artsebarski, Sergei Krikalev , and British cosmonaut-researcher Helen Sharman, who was aboard as part of Project Juno, a cooperative venture partly sponsored by British private...
: Launched May 19, 1991 - STS-60STS-60STS-60 was the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
Space Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
: Launched February 3, 1994 - STS-88STS-88-Mission parameters:*Weight*Liftoff: *Landing: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Orbital Period: 92.4min-Launch attempts:-Mission highlights:Node 1, named Unity, was the first space station hardware delivered by the space shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters , one attached to either end...
Space Shuttle EndeavourSpace Shuttle EndeavourSpace Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
: Launched December 4, 1998 - ISS Expedition 1Expedition 1Expedition 1, or Expedition One, was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of...
: Launched October 31, 2000 - ISS Expedition 11Expedition 11Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....
: Launched April 14, 2005
See also
- List of ISS spacewalks
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of spacewalks and moonwalks
- List of human spaceflights chronologically