In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and overnight** 15 countries, the major allied countries fell into chaos for the "division of property". However, in outer space, the two cosmonauts, Krikalev and Volkov, who succeeded him, did not know what was happening on the ground, and they were still trying to complete the tasks assigned by the state.
However, what is ironic is that when they learned of the state ** and asked for help on the ground, the response they received was to keep them waiting. Because no country was willing to pay a high fee to bring back the two astronauts in space, they were forced to wait in space for almost a year.
So, how did they spend these more than 300 days in space, and what was the final result?
Volkov's profile is scarce, and Krikalev's life is a clear account of the Soviet Union's rise to decline. He was born in Leningrad in 1958, during the Soviet Union, when industrial development led to the rapid improvement of aerospace technology, which was also fueled by the United States.
As the two giants of the Cold War, they continued to move forward in the open and secret race. The realization of the American manned lunar program inspired the Soviet Union to look to the wider universe.
In order not to lag behind the United States, the USSR invested heavily in manned spaceflight and successfully carried out the spacewalk of cosmonaut Gagarin.
Although there are suspicions that the motive of the United States may have been to deplete the resources of the USSR, like aircraft carriers **, it is undeniable that at that time Soviet space technology did reach unprecedented heights.
Krikalev has dreamed of flying into space since he was a child and studied diligently in difficult circumstances. After graduating from secondary school, he entered the Leningrad Mechanical Institute, where he continued his studies.
There, he continued to work hard, and as a result, his results were consistently among the best. After graduating, he successfully entered the Soviet aviation department, where he was responsible for the docking of aviation ships and information entry.
While the job was decent and easy, Krikalev knew that his ambitions were much more than that. His goal is to explore the wider blue sky.
1985 was an important year for Krikalev. In order to realize his dream of becoming an astronaut, he seized the opportunity of the Soviet Union to recruit cosmonauts massively for the space station project.
Krikalev, with his excellent physical fitness, mental qualities and extensive work experience, managed to become an cosmonaut reserve. With a determined personality and a cool head, Krikalev quickly adapted to the life of an astronaut and gradually grew into an excellent cosmonaut.
This excellent quality helped him survive for up to a year in space drifting. After three years of rigorous training, on November 26, 1988, Krikalev finally realized his dream of becoming a full-fledged cosmonaut and received the opportunity to go into space.
In this year, he flew into space and entered the Mir space station, which was under construction, which opened his eyes, and he was shocked by the vastness of the universe and the magnificent galaxy, and had a deeper understanding and imagination of space.
Krikalev's main responsibilities at the station were to install new templates, provide stable data, and conduct experiments to obtain first-hand data. To accomplish these difficult tasks, he spent more than 100 days in space.
The successful completion of this mission strengthened his determination in the aerospace industry. His efforts have been highly recognized by the country, and his strength has also been praised by everyone.
Now, he has become a qualified astronaut. Although he did not know when the next mission would come, he remained confident in the future development of Soviet space and actively prepared for the second space voyage.
Despite the turbulence in the Soviet Union and even the independence of the country, Krikalev was convinced that the foundations of the Soviet Union would not be shaken, and his memory of the prosperity of the Soviet Union was still fresh in his heart.
He believes that these turmoil have nothing to do with the construction of the space station and will not affect the progress of the mission. However, he didn't expect things to go in an unforeseen direction. In 1991, he waited for his second mission, to go to the Mir space station again to conduct experiments and data calculations.
Although the content of the mission is similar to the last one, his excitement about going back into space has not changed. On May 18, 1991, he returned to the Mir space station, this time on a mission that was expected to last five months.
The astronauts spent five months on the space station in extreme challenges, and they supported each other in the companionship of data and the universe to survive Krikalev's 33rd birthday.
Although the mission was coming to an end and the other astronauts returned to the surface, they agreed to meet again on the ground, but the reality kept them apart for half a year. Despite the odds, they held on to their faith and waited for the next encounter.
As they work day and night for the mission of the National Space Station, the homeland they once trusted undergoes a drastic change. The Soviet Union, as a result of the failure of perestroika, ceased to be its former glory and was hovering on the verge of collapse.
On September 6, 1991, the three Baltic states declared their independence, marking the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although Krikalev had long heard from the ground staff about the possibility of secession from the Soviet Union, he still felt endless grief in his heart when he really heard that the three Baltic countries had seceded from the extended family.
As an astronaut who witnessed the glory days of the Soviet Union, he knew the difficulties of the Soviet Union, but now he felt helpless in space. At the same time, he was deeply concerned about his situation.
Krikalev had thought that if there was turmoil in the Soviet Union, the worst outcome would be nothing more than the country forcibly ending the mission and allowing them to return. But what he didn't expect was that his own country was not only unbeknownst to him**, but even he was forgotten in space for more than 300 days.
When Krikalev learned in the capsule that the three Baltic states had separated from the Soviet Union, he had never felt so tormented in space. He was suffering from anxiety every day, he couldn't ** whether his country would disappear, and he didn't know when such days would end.
However, no one can give him a definite answer, because everyone is confused. Soon, the time for Krikalev's return to the surface was approaching, but neither of them received any notice of return, which filled his heart with panic.
Could it be that the USSR really couldn't go any further? Why did the motherland, which once paid so much attention to aerospace technology, ignore them? Although they did not reveal the news that the Soviet Union was about to be **, Krikalev still smelled a hint of unease with his keen intuition.
Being in space, he could not obtain ground information at the first time, and could only understand the situation of the country through limited broadcast intelligence and communication with ground staff.
The wait for Krikalev and Volkov in the space station seems to be endless. They waited two months after the scheduled return time in October, but still did not receive a return notice from the Soviet Union.
During this period, they not only experienced a long wait, but also unexpectedly discovered that their country, the Soviet Union, had collapsed. Unable to get any news from the ground, they could only lie in the capsule in despair, waiting for someone from a certain country to come to their rescue.
However, what they are waiting for is that the state on the ground is so busy dividing property and dividing territory that it seems to have forgotten their existence. Despite this, Krikalev and Volkov waited day after day in space, hoping that one day they would be rescued.
Krikalev and Volkov, who were floating in space, had asked Russia to send a spacecraft to pick them up. However, Russia is also in internal and external difficulties, and does not even have enough start-up capital.
They could only wait in space for a month, much to the shock of Krikalev. Because in space, the difficulties they have to face are more complicated, and just access to resources is a big problem.
Krikalev and Volkov could only hold on to the limited resources at hand and hold on as long as they could. Fortunately, the American pilots later sent them basic living supplies to solve their urgent needs.
Although Russia is also trying its best to take them back, due to the sluggish economy, it can be said that it is difficult to move an inch without money. Krikalev spent ten months in the space station, twice as long as the scheduled mission.
For the next few months, Krikalev did not receive a mission on the ground, he did not know what he was going to do next, and he could only rely on his own memory, conducting experiments in the space station day after day, recording boring data.
In March 1992, he was excited to find that the station had a new owner, and Germany had bought the right to use the station for $24 million, which meant that he would have the opportunity to return to Earth.
After 311 days of floating in space, Krikalev finally managed to return to Earth on March 25, 1992. The moment he stepped out of the capsule, he was still dressed as a Soviet cosmonaut**, and the Soviet flag on his sleeve still shone brightly.
Sadly, however, the country he had given everything to no longer exists. Later, Krikalev recalled the scene and joked with bitterness: "I have orbited the earth more than 5,000 times, while my own national territory has shrunk by more than 5 million square kilometers."
Over time, Krikalev became Russian, and the name of the USSR completely disappeared from his life.
Krikalev's dreams did not fade because of the predicament of reality. Despite the weakness of the Russian economy and the fact that people are no longer as enthusiastic about astronautics as they used to be, he has a salary of only 600 rubles a month and lives a completely different life than before.
However, his beliefs have not changed, and he remains enthusiastic about the aerospace career he has believed in all his life, even if the former Soviet Union no longer exists. On August 16, 2005, he broke Avdeyev's record for cumulative stay in space, and on October 10, he returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-VI spacecraft.
Although he left the post of cosmonaut, he did not completely withdraw from the career he loved, but became the vice president of the Korolev Energy Rocket and Space Corporation, and at the same time served as the director of the Gagarin cosmonaut training center, continuing to shine in the field he was familiar with.
Krikalev, the last Soviet man who was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" and "Hero of the Russian Federation", finally realized his dream.