The Astronaut Who Was Left Stranded In Space For 311 Days All Alone

0:00Many people would like to fly into space, zero gravity, a stunning view of Earth from one side, and the boundlessly frightening black area from the other. Yeah, it's all cool. But don't forget that this journey can turn into a nightmare. Lack of oxygen, floating in outer space and staying in a spaceship for a long time without understanding when you can return home. This last thing happened to a Russian cosmonaut. This stay in space is one of the longest in the world. 33-year-old flight engineer Sergei Krikilev spent 311 days in zero gravity on the MIR space station. But that's not the most interesting part of this story. Sergei's long journey began on May 18, 1991. That day, he boarded a transport ship and went into space to the MIR space station. On May 20, the docking with the station was completed. There, together with another engineer, Sergei performed his space duties. They went on space walks several times, did repairs, took care of the station, and conducted

1:03scientific experiments. When you have company and a lot of work, living in space is not so hard. But things got worse on the day when Sergei was supposed to return home. According to the plan, the mission should have lasted for five months. A new astronaut was supposed to replace the old ones. The transport ship had finally docked with the station. On October 10, only one astronaut returned to Earth. Sergei was left alone at the MIR station. He continued to work as the sole flight engineer of the crew. The station couldn't remain empty. They had to send someone to replace Sergei. He wasn't ready for such a long stay in space. He hadn't trained for it. But there was no choice. He couldn't just leave the station. One month passed, they informed Sergei that he would return home soon. But something happened that no one expected. They contacted Sergei and said he couldn't return, since the country that promised to bring him home no longer existed. During this time, a big crisis began in Russia.

2:04The cosmonaut's return was impossible, since no one had the money for it. Just imagine Sergei's condition. You were hundreds of miles from home in black outer space, completely alone, and have no idea how many days you have left to be there. The days passed slowly. Weeks. Then a month passed. It would have been much easier if being in space was not harmful to your health. But in conditions of zero gravity, the human body takes serious damage. First, it's a weakening of the muscles. The body doesn't receive the necessary load it needs, and the muscles are constantly in a relaxed state, leading to dystrophy. Yes, astronauts do a set of exercises every day. But this is not enough to keep the body in shape. In addition to muscles, bones begin to weaken, and a person becomes weak. Even after six months of such a life, any astronaut needs a long time to get back into their previous shape after returning home. Also, there's a lot of radiation in space, which is dangerous for people.

3:06It comes from several sources at once. The main radiation comes from the sun. On Earth, we're protected from it, thanks to the planet's magnetic field. But all radiation accumulates in the upper atmosphere, and doesn't reach us. This accumulation of radiation in the atmosphere is also bad for astronauts. But the worst radiation is the galactic one. It comes from distant stars and galaxies, and has a powerful effect on all living things. Radiation provokes many unfavorable conditions, and destroys the body at the cellular level. Now, all spaceships and the ISS are equipped with shields and coatings that reflect radiation. But still, it doesn't provide 100% protection. In space, the astronaut's immune system changes. There are no conditions under which immunity could improve. It seems that there's nothing wrong with the absence of many bacteria and microbes. But the body's defense is weakening. A person becomes more vulnerable to microbes that can be brought by another astronaut.

4:07You also have serious food restrictions. And in tubes doesn't contain as many useful vitamins as it does in natural products. Without vitamins, the body weakens even more. And sometimes, astronauts have to go on space walks, which aren't easy. A space suit is a huge and uncomfortable outfit. It constrains your movements and puts pressure on your body. Work in space can last up to several hours. During this time, you sweat a lot. One of the suit's filters may be broken, and all the fluid released by your body can spread throughout the suit and reach your face. Your eyes may water. The drops could interfere with your vision. Thousands of dangers can await an astronaut during a mission in outer space. Imagine that you do some repairs, and something goes wrong. The wrench jumps off the bolt, and it flies out, for example. You try to catch it and unconsciously push off from the ship. You catch the bolt, but your body is already flying away. You have nothing to hold on to.

5:08But fortunately, you have a safety rope. Anyway, it can break off from your space suit because you attached it incorrectly. As soon as the rope breaks, your body changes the angle of flight. Now you're not just flying away. Your body is spinning at this moment. The earth and black space flash in your eyes. So you get it. There are definitely risks. But nothing like that happened with Sergei. All astronauts spend many hours training to be ready for any troubles. They gain good physical shape, and lose it during the mission. Add to this the psychological factor. Your body weakens. You don't breathe fresh air. You can't see your friends, and you don't have the opportunity to return home. A small layer of wall separates you from the cold vacuum of space. All this causes stress, which also weakens your immunity and harms your nervous system. Fortunately, astronauts also get through serious psychological training. They can maintain self-control in the most stressful situations.

6:09But when you're alone in space for more than six months and don't know when you'll return, you can get seriously nervous. Fortunately, Sergei didn't panic. He performed his daily duties, trained, and of course, missed home. A month later, he received the same response. We can't bring you back yet. The country is in a difficult situation. It felt worse every day. His strength was leaving him. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to survive. The most interesting thing is the station had a capsule developed to return to Earth. But Sergei didn't use it, because no one would have served the station. Russia sold the station seats to other countries. Also, they hoped to sell mere. This meant that Sergei had to keep the station working. Sergei's mission lasted twice as long as planned. As a result, he spent 10 months or 311 days in space and set a world record. During this time, he flew around the Earth about 5,000 times.

7:11Finally, he received the long-awaited message. He's coming home. Germany paid about $24 million for a ticket to the station. They were going to replace the astronaut. Crick-A-Leve got into the capsule and flew to Earth. Many people were waiting for his return down there. The cosmonaut landed and everyone rushed to help him. He looked very thin, sweaty and exhausted. Four men helped him out of the capsule. They helped him stay on the ground, gave him a fur coat, and brought a bowl of broth. It seemed that such a flight would leave an imprint on his life forever. But the cosmonaut's mood was excellent. Two years later, he went into space again and became the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on a NASA shuttle. And two years later, he was one of the first to live on the ISS. In 2005, he made his sixth and last flight. He went to the ISS, where he spent about six months after which he returned home on the lander.

8:12After this flight, he set a world record for the total duration of stay in space at 803 days. Only 10 years later, someone managed to break that record. But that's a different story.