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Patrick Baudry: "The first moments in space, it's an absolute wonder"

2021-04-25T03:26:30.276Z


As Thomas Pesquet arrives, this Saturday, aboard the International Space Station, the second Frenchman to have gone to space.


Patrick Baudry is one of ten French people to have already been to space.

This fighter pilot and test pilot was chosen to form the first group of astronauts in France, with Jean-Loup Chrétien.

He trained first with the Russians, then with the Americans and it was aboard the Discovery shuttle that he left Earth in June 1985 for a seven-day trip.

While Thomas Pesquet took off this Friday, Patrick Baudry comes back, for us, on his experience.

Thomas Pesquet and his team

left Earth this Friday, you also experienced a trip to space, how is take-off going?

Patrick Baudry.

The take-off, first of all, is a relief.

In this very particular profession, you wait to fly.

And sometimes we wait a very long time.

Today, it is much better controlled, but in the years 1970-80, the postponements of fire or the cancellations were commonplace.

So the day you settle in and the countdown begins, every minute, every second that passes brings you closer to heaven.

The last 20 minutes go by at breakneck speed.

When the counter is at 0 and we hear the main engines light up, there is absolute happiness.

There is noise, vibrations, very strong acceleration.

But it is a pleasure of every second, a happiness that lasts nine minutes.

Read also 23 hours of flight, a stowage then a busy schedule on the ISS: what awaits Thomas Pesquet

Do we think about the risks at this time?

Each person has their own psychology, culture and habits.

But for a fighter pilot and test pilot [which he was before being an astronaut, editor's note], the risk of dying is something that has been accepted for a very long time.

Space travel is teamwork.

We have absolute confidence in everyone who prepares the ship and the propulsion systems, so that's not a question we ask ourselves.

Me, I certainly took more risks during test flights than in space.

What is the first thing we say to ourselves once we are in space?

That it is absolute happiness, that we have an incredible chance to be there and that it is an immense privilege.

And when we get there, when all the engines stop, it's really an emotion, a total wonder at the beauty of what we discover: the Earth at the bottom of space.

In addition there is weightlessness, this feeling of total freedom which makes you in a state of wonder and happiness.

VIDEO.

Plush penguin, rock-paper-scissors, take-off ... relive Thomas Pesquet's departure for the ISS hour by hour

How's it going when you're up there?

Are we exhausted by take-off, are there any difficulties?

Rest is welcome but is not "easy" to master. Of course, the last few days before the shooting were very intense - it's much better controlled today - so at one point you are really tired and you have to sleep well. But it's hard to sleep weightless at first. There is no body contact, as is the case on a mattress for example. So when you close your eyes, nothing happens. This is completely disconcerting and it takes several earth days before you can fall asleep more easily. Other than that, the biggest problem that can arise when arriving is disorientation, which can give some space sickness, which is actually motion sickness. To avoid it, do not make sudden movements of the head. We are therefore careful to float quietly. But we adapt,and after a while you don't pay attention to weightlessness at all.

Do we feel anguish to be so far from Earth?

It must be personal, I may have friends who have gone through moments of anguish.

But for me it didn't, I just enjoyed every second.

Source: leparis

All tech articles on 2021-04-25

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