Lance Bass shares cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev’s story on ‘The Last Soviet’
NSYNC star Lance Bass is also a Russian-trained astronaut, and he’s blasting listeners into space with his new series, “The Last Soviet.” This Kaleidoscope podcast treks through space history and Sergei Krikalev’s story – the last Soviet cosmonaut stuck in space as the Soviet Union collapsed.
Throughout the series, we’ll also learn about a woman who won a reality show cosmonaut contest, an Australian radio operator who wound up helping the Soviet Space Station, a Chicago hustler who attempted selling coca-cola to Russians, and Playboy’s editor who participated in a revolution.
Stream this eight-part series from the beginning to hear the complete documentary with all episodes running less than an hour on average. Lance Bass is the most apt choice to host the series since the pop superstar trained to be a certified cosmonaut in Star City, Russia. He was set for the Russian Space Program and for a NASA mission to the International Space Station on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft. Unfortunately, his financial sponsors cancelled at the last minute, and he was unable to go.
Krikalev forever dreamed of heading to space, and the series brings us back to 1991. Krikalev was on the space station, Mir, and he orbited Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, the Soviet Union dissolved, and there were no funds to send up Krikalev’s replacement. Yet, he had an option to leave and go home in a re-entry capsule. Realizing that this would abandon the space station, leaving it completely empty, he had a difficult decision – to stay with no certain timeframe to return home or leave immediately. At home, he lived with his family, was married, and had a one-year-old daughter.
When a “ham radio operator” tapped into the Mir Space Station’s frequency, Krikalev heavily relied on this contact. The series discusses the 313 days he orbited Earth, why he stayed in space, the devotion to his country, and other space questions. Bass will also discuss his cosmonaut training experiences.
Tune in over the next few weeks for new episodes of “The Last Soviet” wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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