News: 2006
Sergei news, articles and sightings for 2006.
January
Январь
Сергей Крикалёв.«Сам человек в полете тоже объект исследования» (Sergei Krikalev: ‘The person in flight is also an object of research’ ”), Roskosmos Russian Space magazine Sergei interview, in Russian.
30/1
From the Astroaddies mailing group:
In the magazine of the Gmünder Weltraumfreunde, Walter Hopferwieser (who is a member of this list too), their chairman, mentioned that Sergei Krikalyov would be his guest for a skiing holiday this spring.
He did not mention any specific date, though.
I hear from another source that Krikalyov will also visit Germany, but in early summer.
– Jürgen
February
Февраль
3/2
«Сергей Крикалев: «Космос — точка зрения на Землю» (“Sergei Krikalyov: ‘Space provides the only other view of Earth’ ”). Short interview at Aloepole.ru, in Russian.
Sergei says he read a lot of fantastic/science fiction literature in his youth, and this helped him decide on his future profession. The most realistic writer were the Strugatskii, Стругацкий brothers. There are elements of showbusiness in being a cosmonaut or astronaut, in that they often appear before television cameras, or help film documentaries themselves. The most simple tasks on Earth, such as drinking water, become difficult in microgravity, though one adjusts to them. He thinks a project to go to Mars would be international and it would take about ten years to develop such a project and launch the space vehicles.
9/2
Sergei apparently got roped into yet another promotion during Expedition 11, this for the “Golf Shot Around the World” mission, as described in this collectSPACE posting: Fore! ISS launched golf shot to go miles and miles…
He appears in two promotional photos with a golf club in the Zvezda module: Photo 1 and Photo 2.
April
Апрель
12/4
Kommersant: “Putin Shows His Star Cards to America”. Sergei was at the Kremlin along with Anatolii Perminov and four other cosmonauts (Sergei Volkov, Viktor Savinykh, Vasily Tsibliev and Alexey Leonov) who, with President Putin, did a live video linkup with Expedition 13 for Cosmonauts’ Day. Sergei photos direct links: 33856, 33857, 33858, 33861.
13/4
Kremlin.ru: “Russia remains a recognised leader in the exploration of outer space” and “Extracts from Transcript of Meeting with Cosmonauts and Heads of the Space Sector”.
30/4
Sergei presented prizes at the FOTO.RU Open ju-jitsu Moscow international tournament, along with cosmonaut Musa Manarov (who was the chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee). He appears in the photogallery:
- 593: The tournament participants are welcomed by the president of the Foto.ru company, Paul Morozov; to the left of him is MFD president Sergei Krutovskikh, on the right is the guest of honour of tournament and old friend of the MFD, pilot-cosmonaut, the Hero of Soviet Union, and the Hero of Russia Sergei Krikalyov; further on are RFD vice-president Georgii Kukoverov and the chairman of the tournament organizing committee – the pilot the cosmonaut, the Hero of the Soviet Union Musa Manarov.
- 594: Pavel Morozov and Sergei Krikalyov – fans of ju-jitsu with the greater experience, this meeting at competitions is not the first.
- 595: Sergei Krutovskikh, the main judge of the Foto.ru Open 2006, informs of the subtleties of rules of JJIF competitions.
- 609: Sergei Krikalyov hands over the award to the tournament winner, Ol’ga Pastushenko (Moscow).
May
Май
7/5
“Russia’s ISS crewing plans”: a posting by Bart Hendrickx at FPSpace, lists Sergei as being backup (along with Maksim Sura’ev) for EO-17 (Soyuz TMA-12 N° 222 – March 2008) and crew for EO-19 (Soyuz TMA-14 N° 702 – March 2009). This is of course only a preliminary plan.
10/5
Rusk.ru: Звездный императив: Беседа с летчиком-космонавтом | Star imperative: Conversation with a space pilot. Interview in Russian.
16/5
Universe protects the World Wildlife Fund: At a meeting of the WWF-Russia Board that took place in Moscow, Sergei Krikalyov, pilot cosmonaut and Hero of Russia, was chosen as a new member of the Board.
23/5
Sergei attended the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Energiya Cosmonaut Group. Flowers were laid at Sergei Korolyov’s monument, then there was a gathering and celebration that included Energiya cosmonauts and various dignitaries. The current ISS crew (Expedition 13) made a videolink appearance.
- Energiya photo report: May 23, 2006. Korolev, Moscow Region.
- Federal Space Agency: Празднование 40-летия отряда космонавтов РКК «Энергия» им. С.П.Королева.
- Novosti Kosmonavtiki gallery: Празднование 40 летия отряда космонавтов в РКК «Энергия». 23 мая 2006 г.
Celebration of the 40th anniversary of the RKK S.P. Korolyov Energiya Cosmonaut Group
On 23 May, 2006, at 14:00 began the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the creation of the RKK S.P. Korolev Energiya Cosmonauts Group. During the celebration, speeches were presented by Roskosmos management, organizations of the rocket-space industry, veterans of the Cosmonaut Group and representatives of the space agencies of the USA and Europe.
Sergei appears in these photos, in a steel-grey suit: photo_05-23-03, photo_05-23-04, photo_05-23-05, photo_05-23-06, photo_05-23-16, photo_05-23-20, photo_05-23-21.
24-25/5
“May 25, 2006. Korolev, Moscow Region. At Korolev Rocket & Space Corporation Energia the routine training sessions were held under the crew training program for the International Space Station (ISS).” Sergei appears in one photo, helping with photography training for Expedition 14.
June
Июнь
30/6
Novgorod Gazette Online: Sergei Krikalyov: “Boys do not want to, and can not be cosmonauts any more…” | Сергей Крикалёв: «Мальчишки уже не хотят и не могут быть космонавтами…». Interview (yet to be translated) with Elena Kuz’mina.
August
Август
7/8
Some lucky Russian schoolchildren got to meet Sergei as part of a Meade.ru telescopes competition.
Children have learned what cosmonaut Krikalyov dreamed of becoming in his youth
On 3 August in Moscow, in the Silver Pine forest, took place a meeting of the young winners of the competition “Expedition MIDlandiyu, МИДландию,” the MEADE company and the cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov, the hero of Russia, and the holder of the record for the most time spent in orbit.
It is necessary to note a growing interest in space and astronomy in the upcoming generation. This event is an illustrious example – the joint competition of the companies MEADE Instruments (USA) and the magazine “GEOlyonok”, «GEOлёнок» for which the Pentar company acted as an organizer. More than 200 talented children from different cities of Russia and the CIS participated in the competition. The real opportunity to look through MEADE telescopes together with an eminent cosmonaut was received by the 10 best experts on space.
For the space holiday, schoolboy space enthusiasts from 7 to 11 years had assembled. The young talents showed such a profound knowledge of astronomy that the journalists could only shake their heads in surprise. It is not surprising that such well-versed experts wanted to talk to Sergei Krikalyov. The cosmonaut told a lot of interesting stories about his life and work in space and noted that like millions of his contemporaries, he too dreamed of becoming a cosmonaut and has never regretted the decision. S. Krikalyov was frankly surprised at the fact that, for quite some time now, astronomy has been excluded from the compulsory school program and remarked that “it is impossible to speak about the normal outlook of a person if he has no perception of his surroundings. To distinguish stars from planets and to understand why the sun rises and sets. It is especially relevant for the upcoming generation.”
Besides the interview with Krikalyov, the winners of the competition “Expedition MIDlandiyu, МИДландию,” constructed a scaled-down breadboard model of the Solar System at a scale of 15 million to one, and estimated the capabilities of the MEADE telescopes in this designated space. The weather did not allow the viewing of heavenly objects, but the MEADE telescopes were suitable for terrestrial observation, and therefore to understand their construction, it was possible by means of imagined planets to practise automatic celestial navigation. All the participants in the holiday received a true space meal as a gift – cookies, chocolate and fruit in briquettes – the same foods which are delivered by Progress ships to the cosmonauts on the ISS.
Russian version, Русская версия.
10-13/8
Found by Pat Palazzolo: A hot air ballooning competition called the “Sergei Krikalyov Cup” takes place in Lithuania on these dates! From the Kalenteri (Calendar) 2006 page at the Pallo.net site (a Finnish ballooning site), a Word document can be downloaded (listed under that date):
Dear Pilots,
We are glad to inform you that Nemunaitis Balloon Club organizes a hot air balloon competition “Sergei Krikalev Cup 2006.” You are invited to join friendly atmosphere of fiesta and to have a good time together with Sergei Krikalev and his family.
Sergei Krikalev is a famous Russian cosmonaut. He has taken part in six international astronautic expeditions and has the longest total time spent in space. Sergei has been the member of honour in Nemunaitis Balloon Club from 2002.
The competition will be held from the 10th to the 13th of August in Alytus.
The competition center will be in Nemunas Park Residence Hotel. The hotel is located on the bank of the Nemunas River in a peaceful Nemunaitis village in the Southern part of Lithuania 16 km from Alytus.
We will use simplified rules but one special task will give you a sense of space.
An international symposium of the painters (pleinair), an exhibition, an auction and World Cannon Championship will be held for your pleasure at the same time in Nemunaitis village too.
There is no entry fee and all teams are welcome to take part in “Sergei Krikalev Cup 2006.”
The organizers will provide maps, GPS loggers, meteo information, morning coffee, welcome and farewell parties for the teams (pilot + 3), diplomas for the pilots and unique cup for the winner.
Accommodation is available in Nemunaitis and Alytus from 10–30 EUR for a double room.
Official language is English.
Attached you will find more information on the event and accommodation. Please fill in the entry form and return it preferably till the 1st of August.
We are looking forward to meeting you in Lithuania!
Sincerely yours,
Jolanta Šuopyte, Event Coordinator
27/8
С днём рожденья, Сергей! Happy birthday, Sergei! 48 today!
October
Октябрь
14/10
As noted at CollectSpace, Sergei was to attend the annual German space travel exhibition meeting in Morgenröthe Rautenkranz, Germany as mentioned on their site (I couldn’t figure out their proper name): Deutsche Raumfahrtausstellung Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz. Czech space writer Tomáš Přibyl got to interview him!
Photo at CollectSPACE: Sergei Krikalev, October 14, 2006, Morgenröthe - Rautenkranz, Germany. (Credit: Christoph Kaspari)
17-18/10
Sergei (along with some other cosmonauts) was in attendance at the “Grounds of the Future” symposium in Moscow on the 40th anniversary of Russian-French space cooperation. He is in this photo, indicated by an arrow (from the PDF document News From Moscow 24/10/2006 in the News List for that month).
November
Ноябрь
12/11
Sergei was in the UK as a “Keynote Speaker” for the annual UKSEDS National Space Conference 2006 from 10-12 November. (Thanks to Peter Thornton for alerting me about this!) It is at the National Space Center in Leicester. He was a replacement for cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, as described in the news item below:
20 October 2006 – Cosmonaut Change
Alexandr Kaleri unfortunately has some cosmonaut business to attend to in the US, and therefore won’t be able to make our conference.
However, we now have the pleasure of another cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalyov joining our conference.
With just over 803 days in space, Krikalyov is certainly a cosmonaut with an incredible wealth of experience, onboard Mir, Soyuz, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station.
The conference committee look forward to welcoming Sergei Krikalyov.
| Time | Track A: Science | Track B: Engineering |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Introduction and Registration | |
| 09:30 | Workshop Slot 1 | Lecture: Russian Delegation |
| 10:05 | Workshop Slot 2 | Lecture: Dr. Julia Tizzard |
| 10:40 | Highlight Lecture: Sergei Krikalyov | Refreshment Break & Workshop Slot 1 |
| 11:30 | Refreshment Break & Workshop Slot 3 | Highlight Lecture: Sergei Krikalyov |
| 12:20 | Lecture: Russian Delegation | Workshop Slot 2 |
| 12:55 | Lecture: Dr. Julia Tizzard | Workshop Slot 3 |
| 13:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | Workshop Slot 4 | Lecture: Mr. Jerry Stone |
| 14:35 | Workshop Slot 5 | Lecture: Mr. Oliver Finn |
| 15:10 | Lecture: Mr. James Penson | Workshop Slot 4 |
| 15:45 | Workshop Slot 6 | Lecture: Mr. James Penson |
| 16:20 | Refreshment break | |
| 16:45 | Lecture: Mr. Jerry Stone | Workshop Slot 5 |
| 17:20 | Lecture: Mr. Oliver Finn | Workshop Slot 6 |
| 17:55 | Bus | |
(Another reason I wish I lived in Europe…)
Krikalev UKSEDS Visit: Posting at CollectSpace.com by Nick, 13 November:
This leads nicely into the highlight of Sunday for me “Sergei Krikalev”. Great presentations, an obvious in-depth knowledge of spaceflight today and tomorrow and a living example of a very modest man who takes major accomplishment in his stride.
He explained on his first mission the apprehension he felt when he and Cosmonaut Volkov were left behind on the Mir and only then realised the enormity of the responsibility of caretaking a space station (which of course was a national treasure). He explained that although ground control were in charge/control for the most part should something go wrong it would come down to split-second decisions made in space by humans. This was one of the many reasons he cited for manned exploration and that the best route forward was a combination of both manned flights and robotic/automated methods of achieving objectives.
With 17 years between his first and last mission… so far (803 days in space in total), he had seen changes to the Earth some natural but mostly man-made, the smoke plumes thousands of kilometres long from the burning oil wells in the Middle East, the melting snow cap on Mt. Kilimanjaro and the increasing awareness of the fragility of the thin layer of atmosphere around the planet on which we all depend.
Photo at CollectSPACE: Sergei Krikalev with Bryar Deakin, November 12, 2006, Leicester, UK. (Credit: Nick Deakin)
26/11
Премия Национальное Величие - 21 ноября 2006 года 6 Церемония Награждения (6th National Greatness Awards honor ceremony – I can’t figure out the proper translation). Another award for Sergei! This took place at the “New Opera” Moscow Theatre. The awards were for contributions to various social services. The Orders/Decorations were «Ответственность и Благородство» (Responsibility and Generosity) and «Золотая звезда России» (the Gold Star of Russia), and the medal was «За Благородный Труд» (For Distinguished Work). Photos: Sergei in the audience; Sergei accepts the award (and a statue).
