# ci318 With Sergei Krikalev

Photo with one of most experienced active Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. 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. This training included preparations for at least six EVA`s (space walks), installation of a new module, the first test of the new Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), and the second joint Soviet-French science mission. Soyuz TM-7 was launched on November 26, 1988, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Alexander Volkov, and French Astronaut Jean-Loup Chretien. The previous crew (Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov, and Valeri Polyakov) remained on MIR for another twenty-five days, marking the longest period a six-person crew had been in orbit. After the previous crew returned to Earth, Krikalev, Polyakov, and Volkov continued to conduct experiments aboard the MIR station. Because arrival of the next crew had been delayed, they prepared the MIR for a period of unmanned operations before returning to Earth on April 27, 1989. In April 1990, Krikalev began preparing for his second flight as a member of the backup crew for the eighth long-duration MIR mission, which also included 5 EVA`s and a week of Soviet-Japanese operations. In December 1990, Krikalev began training for the ninth MIR mission which included training for 10 EVA`s. Soyuz TM-12 launched on May 19, 1991, with Krikalev as flight engineer, Commander Anatoly Artsebarsky, and British astronaut Helen Sharman. Sharman returned to Earth with the previous crew after one week, while Krikalev and Artsebarsky remained on MIR. During the summer, they conducted six EVA`s to perform a variety of experiments and some station maintenance tasks. In July 1991, Krikalev agreed to stay on MIR as flight engineer for the next crew, scheduled to arrive in October because the next two planned flights had been reduced to one. The engineer slot on the Soyuz-13 flight on October 2, 1991, was filled by Toctar Aubakirov, an astronaut from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, who had not been trained for a long-duration mission. Both he and Franz Viehbok, the first Austrian astronaut, returned with Artsebarsky on October 10, 1991. Commander Alexander Volkov remained on board with Krikalev. After the crew replacement in October, Volkov and Krikalev continued MIR experiment operations and conducted another EVA before returning to Earth on March 25, 1992.