Ex-astronaut soar at the government
SHEFFIELD-born astronaut Helen Sharman, pictured left, has broken a long silence to criticise the government's refusal to fund Tim Peake, the army helicopter test pilot, chosen by the European Space Agency to fly in space.
Not many people realise that when she flew to the Mir space station in 1991 the Russians had to pay for her because the government wouldn't.
And it's still not doing so, preferring to put limited money into satellite exploration.
"Since my space flight I have met many people . . . who are aggrieved we are not doing more in space as a nation," she tells a national newspaper.
Helen is still the only British astronaut, or cosmonaut. The five British-born astronauts to follow her all had to become American to fly with NASA.
She's not talked to the Press for a long time, saying she had spent eight years talking about something which took eight days of her life.
Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. To subscribe CLICK HERE
READ MORE
Main news index
Your letters
Features
South Yorkshire's environmental news
Kids Zone
More business news
More Rotherham news
More Doncaster news
More Barnsley news
Latest sport
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
