Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev | |
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RKA Cosmonaut | |
Nationality | Russian |
Born |
Leningrad, Soviet Union |
August 27, 1958
Other occupation
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Mechanical Engineer |
Time in space
|
803d 9h 39min |
Selection | 1985 Cosmonaut Group |
Total EVAs
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8 |
Total EVA time
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41 hours, 8 minutes |
Missions | Mir EO-4 (Soyuz TM-7), Mir LD-3 (Soyuz TM-12, Soyuz TM-13), STS-60, STS-88, Expedition 1 (Soyuz TM-31, STS-102), Expedition 11 (Soyuz TMA-6) |
Mission insignia
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|
Awards |
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev (Russian: Серге́й Константинович Крикалёв, also transliterated as Sergei Krikalyov; born August 27, 1958) is a Russian cosmonaut and mechanical engineer. As a prominent rocket scientist, he is a veteran of six space flights and ranks third to Gennady Padalka and Yuri Malenchenko for the amount of time in space: a total of 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 minutes. He retired from spaceflight in 2007 and is currently working as vice president of Space Corporation Energia.
Krikalev was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. He enjoys swimming, skiing, cycling, aerobatic flying, and amateur radio operations, particularly from space (callsign U5MIR). He graduated from high school in 1975. In 1981, he received a mechanical engineering degree from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute, now called Baltic State Technical University.
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 7 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.
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 Mir space station.