Featured Image Credit: MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty Images/NASA
There is a bizarre reason why one astronaut was left stranded in space for 311 days.
The astronaut in question became known as the ‘last Soviet citizen’.
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was meant to be on a space mission for five months but after finding out that his country no longer existed, everything changed.
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Krikalev ended up stuck in space for nearly a year as the political upheaval on Earth threw everything into chaos and the Soviet Union dissolved.
The reason behind why they couldn’t bring the astronaut home was because the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the planned landing site were now part of the newly independent Kazakhstan.
So Krikalev was left stranded on the Mir Space Station while officials on the ground tried to work out how to bring him back.
All’s well that ends well though, as he was finally able to touch back down on 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.
Describing the experience, he said: “It was a long process and we were getting the news, not all at once, but we heard about the referendum, for example.
“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.
