Featured Image Credit: MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty Images / NASA
The astronaut who spent 311 days stranded in space, after finding out his country no longer existed revealed his first emotion, upon his return to Earth.
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was on a year-long space mission when he received news from back home that the Soviet Union had dissolved.
Krikalev’s mission was originally planned to last five months, but the political upheaval back on Earth threw everything into chaos.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome and the planned landing site were now part of the newly independent Kazakhstan. During the political chaos, officials were left scrambling to figure out how to bring the cosmonaut home, or if he even could.
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Trapped aboard the Mir Space Station, he finally made his way back down to Earth in March 1992.
In a 2015 interview with the Guardian, Krikalev explained what his first emotion was when he finally touched down on solid ground.
“It was a long process and we were getting the news, not all at once, but we heard about the referendum, for example," the cosmonaut described his experience.
“I was doing my job and was more worried about those on the ground - our families and friends - we had everything we needed!”
Krikalev went on to say: “I think I felt satisfaction that I had done my job, and done it well. The second one was a sort of relief as I had held a huge responsibility for many months.”
When Krikalev returned to Earth, the Soviet Union was gone and his home was no more. However, he became known as the ‘last Soviet citizen’ because of his unique situation.
Believe it or not, it wasn’t his final time in space.
In 1994, he returned to orbit as part of the first joint US-Russian Space Shuttle Mission.
In December 1998, he also became the first person to enter the International Space Station along with NASA astronaut Robert Cabana.
Together, the pair were tasked with powering up the US module Unity.
Over his career, Krikalev spent a staggering 804 days, 9 hours, and 39 minutes in space - once holding the record for the most time spent off Earth.
But due to the amount of time Krikalev had spent in space, where he was travelling at high velocities, he also experienced time dilation.
This phenomenon is when time slows down at higher velocities, leading him to be 0.02 seconds younger than other people born at the same time as him.
Isn't space crazy?
