Video: My time in space feels like it was yesterday, says astronaut Helen

A QUARTER OF a century has passed, but for Helen Sharman the memory of being the first Briton in space is so vivid that it 'feels like yesterday'.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th May 2016, 14:36 BST
Updated 19th May 2016, 15:41 BST
Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA WireBritain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Talking about her historic mission 25 years after she was launched into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, she recalled her “rough” eight days on the Russian Mir space station.

It was a far cry from life on the much larger International Space Station (ISS), where British European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut Tim Peake is spending six months.

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“The International Space Station is supposed to be like a three or four star hotel compared to the old Mir space station,” said Sheffield-born Ms Sharman, 52, speaking at Imperial College London, where she works as operations manager in the chemistry department.

Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA WireBritain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman at the Science Museum in London with the space suit she wore 25 years ago on her journey into space: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

On Friday Ms Sharman will be joined by fellow astronauts at the museum to celebrate the docking of her Soyuz spacecraft with the Mir space station on May 20, 1991.

The next day she takes part in an event at the Science Museum’s IMAX theatre, where she will discuss her experiences with members of the public.

Related topics:Helen SharmanTim Peake