Sergei Krikalev | |
|---|---|
| Сергей Крикалёв | |
 Krikalev in 2005 | |
| Born | 27 August 1958 |
| Status | Retired |
| Nationality |
|
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer |
| Awards | Hero of Russia Hero of the Soviet Union |
| Space career | |
| Roscosmos cosmonaut | |
Time in space | 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes[1] |
| Selection | NPOE–7 Cosmonaut Group (1985) |
Total EVAs | 8 |
Total EVA time | 41 hours and 8 minutes |
| Missions | |
Mission insignia |           |
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev (Russian: Сергей Константинович Крикалёв, also transliterated as Sergei Krikalyov; born 27 August 1958) is a Russian mechanical engineer and former cosmonaut and head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
As a prominent rocket scientist, he is a veteran of six space flights and ranks fourth to Oleg Kononenko, Gennady Padalka, and Yuri Malenchenko for the most time spent in space: a total of 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 minutes.[1]
Krikalev was stranded on board the Mir during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As the country that had sent him into space no longer existed, his return was delayed and he stayed in space for 311 consecutive days, twice as long as the mission had originally called for.[2]
He retired as a cosmonaut in 2007 and was working[when?] as vice president of Space Corporation Energia. From 2009 to 2014, he headed the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.