Krikalyov, Sergey Konstantinovich

Sergey Konstantinovich Krikalyov, (born Aug. 27, 1958, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R. [now St. Petersburg, Russia]), Russian cosmonaut whose six spaceflights from 1988 to 2005 earned him the world record for most time in space.

After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Leningrad Technical Institute, Krikalyov joined NPO Energia (now RKK Energia), the largest Soviet spacecraft design organization, as an engineer in 1981 and became a civilian trainee cosmonaut four years later. He flew his first space mission in 1988–89 as flight engineer on Soyuz TM-7, during which he spent 151 days in space aboard the Mir space station. He was in the public eye in 1991–92 during his second mission, also to Mir, for being in space during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Having been launched as a Soviet citizen, he returned 311 days later as a Russian citizen.

Krikalyov was the first Russian cosmonaut to serve aboard an American spacecraft. In 1994 he flew as a mission specialist aboard STS-60, a mission on the Discovery space shuttle lasting eight days. He flew for a fourth time in space in 1998 as a mission specialist aboard STS-88, during which the Endeavour space shuttle visited the International Space Station (ISS). The flight lasted 12 days. His fifth space mission was in 2000–01, when he served as flight engineer on Soyuz TM-31 as part of the first resident crew (Expedition 1) on the ISS. He spent 141 days in space during this mission. In 2005 he went into space for the sixth time, to the ISS as commander on Soyuz TMA-6. As part of the crew of Expedition 11, he spent 179 days in space, thus accumulating 803 days total during his career.

In 2007 he became vice president of manned flights at Energia. In 2009 he left the cosmonaut program and Energia to be the head of the Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.