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Cosmonaut Stranded in Space for Nearly 300 Days Due to This Historic Circumstance

The space traveler was left without a country to return to in 1991 after the Soviet Union disintegrated during his space mission.

BY SOMDATTA MAITY

PUBLISHED SEP 13, 2024

Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by NASA (Photo of Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, Russia's Federal Space Agency, Expedition 11 commander, Soyuz commander.)

Stuck in Space

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay

Space travel is not for the faint of heart and requires years of training. A huge amount of study is done to analyze the factors, astronauts will face in outer space, and their voyage is planned with the utmost detail. But, sometimes conditions emerge that cause astronauts to overstay their planned trip in space, IFL Science reported. Some reasons, astronauts had to extend their visit to space include technical difficulties, environmental problems, and sudden malfunctions. They are all run-of-the-mill factors for experts. In 1991, though something unprecedented happened which caused Sergei Krikalev to stay 311 days in space. The problem with his return was not his spaceship or health, but the fact that he had no country to return to for landing.

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by NASA (Expedition 1 flight engineer Sergei K. Krikalev reminisces for a brief moment during his visit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Krikalev is on the mid deck in this scene. Now assigned to a three-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the cosmonaut and his two Expedition 1 crew mates enjoyed a reunion with the STS-97 astronauts on Flight Day 9. In his cosmonaut career Krikalev has been assigned duty on missions aboard the shuttle, ISS, and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency's space station Mir.) — Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by NASA (Expedition 1 flight engineer Sergei K. Krikalev during his visit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Sergei Krikalev was working as a rocket engineer at NPO Energia when he was chosen as a Cosmonaut for a mission on the Mir space station, IFL Science reported. After years of training, Krikalev and his team started their voyage in 1991. The team was completing their objectives in space when their country, The Soviet Union disintegrated due to political change. The cosmonauts weren't fully aware of what was going on back on Earth. "It was a long process and we were getting the news, not all at once, but we heard about the referendum, for example," Krikalev explained, The Guardian reported. "I was doing my job and was more worried about those on the ground – our families and friends – we had everything we needed!" After four months, his whole team barring him returned to Earth. Krikalev stayed back to keep Mir going, till the time further assistance did not reach the space station.

Left Alone in Space

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Krikalev's possibility of returning to Earth took a serious hit, IFL Science reported. Resources were scarce to get him back to Earth, and the only option Krikalev had was to escape using the Soyuz capsule, but that would mean the end of Mir. "The strongest argument was economic because this allows them to save resources here," Krikalev said while still on Mir. "They say it’s tough for me—not really good for my health. But now the country is in such difficulty, the chance to save money must be the top priority." America and Russia struck a deal, and funding was arranged to get Krikalev back to Earth. The cosmonaut returned after 311 days in space in March 1992, and because of his special situation during the disintegration of the Soviet Union he became known as the "last Soviet citizen."

Krikalev's Other Space Missions

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Krikalev did not stay on Earth for long after his return and made another trip to space, IFL Science reported. Throughout his career as a cosmonaut, Krikalev clocked 803 days in space, breaking all the previous records of people staying in space. Based on relativity and dilation, Krikalev's long stay in space implies that he has traveled 0.2 seconds in the future, as per calculations done by Universe Today. In 2024, Russian President, Vladimir Putin named Krikalev as envoy for Foreign Space Ties, Bloomberg reported.

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Image Source: BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 22: Dylan Mathis (L) and Captain Sunita Williams speak on stage during the 'Taking Cinematic VR to Space: NASA and the Emmy®-Nominated Space Explorers' panel at AT&T SHAPE at Warner Bros. Studios on June 22, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for AT&T) — Image Source: Dylan Mathis (L) and Captain Sunita Williams in Burbank, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for AT&T)

Recently an eight-day space trip undertaken by astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore got extended to almost a year, due to problems with their spacecraft, Straliner, IFL Science reported. The duo are now expected to touch down in February 2025. In September 2023, astronaut Frank Rubio became the first NASA astronaut who had to stay in space for over a year. The extended stay happened because his ship undertook some damage. "If they had asked me upfront before training because you do train for a year or two years for your mission, I probably would have declined," Rubio said during a live broadcast from the ISS. "It would have hurt, but I would have declined. That's only because of family things that were going on this past year and had I known that I would have had to miss those very important events, I just would have had to say 'thank you, but no thank you.'"