"There is a great accumulation of risks in the space" Pedro Duque, the first Spanish astronaut to visit space and employee of the European Space Agency (ESA), reveals himself to be a person of simple pleasures, who is passionate about space and adept at overcoming great challenges. Here, we join him to review some of the milestones and myths of the space race and learn more about the international aeronautics and space industry, in which Spain has been playing a role for more than 20 years, thanks to its involvement with the ESA. As General Manager of the first completely private European company to put its own satellite into orbit and sell its Earth imaging services, he provides us with some interesting facts.

How did you first develop an interest in space and when did you first feel the desire to become an astronaut?
I’ve always had an interest in aeronautics, even from my childhood. The reason is simple: my father was an air traffic controller and we have always shared an interest in aeroplanes. He used to take us to the control tower, in the airport. I even tried the flight simulator once, one of those that pilots use to train. Undoubtedly, this spurred my interest in aeronautics and encouraged me to become an aeronautical engineer and it was a small step from there to developing an interest in space.

How did you first get the chance to become an astronaut?
When I was finishing my degree, the government approved a new Law on Science, under which Spain would begin to take part in international R&D (Research and Development) projects and become more involved in international programmes and agencies. One of these organisations was the European Space Agency (ESA) and one of the selected laboratories was the one at the university where I was working as a research fellow. We formed a group that began formalising contracts with the ESA. The opportunity came about because the Spanish Government began to allocate more resources to international projects from that moment onwards, which would come back in the form of contracts with the industry; some of the other aeronautical engineers and I became converts to aerospace engineering.

The first time you look through the window and see Earth, with its dark horizon and the Sun, is indescribable.

How were you selected from the different candidates wanting to work at the European Space Agency?
Let me tell you a story: when the results of the selection process were about to be published I began to receive calls from all the radio stations and TV channels, even before anyone contacted me officially. The authorities in charge of the selection process inform the government first and afterwards the candidates. But there are so many people involved in the process that any news always gets leaked.

When did you first travel to space?
I first travelled to space on 29th October 1998. I spent a year in Russia before that. I lived in Star City, a small village with only 5,000 residents and the location of the space training and research facility, with its technicians and engineers. The place has restaurants, schools, cinemas, everything you might need to make life pleasant for the people living there, because Star City was the product of Soviet planning, which, at least where questions of space were concerned, was autarchic.

Where else can ESA astronauts receive training?
The International Space Station is run by the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada and the ESA, representing many European countries. All these countries have centres for training astronauts. Right now, anyone who is going to spend any time in the Space Station has to learn how it works, and each centre specialises in one field, which means that the trainee has to pass through all of them. This means that they spend their lives travelling.

Moving on to sensations, how does it feel to see the Earth from space?
It is incredibly overwhelming, even though we all receive training and are fully prepared for it. Obviously, we have seen the photographs and videos before we embark on a mission and we receive training so that we are prepared for the fast movements onboard the spacecraft. And if there is anything to see below, the onboard computer will tell you exactly where it is. Even so, it is awe-inspiring. The first time you look through the window and see Earth, with its dark horizon and the Sun, an indelible memory is left.

What do you think of during those moments?
I do not know what to say, to be honest. All the preparation and training teaches you to detach yourself from the situation, to feel as little as possible. I usually compare it to people who climb mountains: they make a titanic effort to reach the peak, they look around, do whatever it is they have to do there and come back down and they do not think about it too much.

What should humanity’s immediate objectives in space be?
I don’t see any specific objectives as such. But it is all justified by the desire to explore, to transcend the barriers of knowledge, by the step forward that it represents for the human race, for a country or for a society. This is a special year because on 21st of July, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of man’s landing on the Moon. At the time of the landing, there was a lot of momentum behind the exploration of space, for various reasons. One of them was that the US wanted to be the first country to reach the Moon and so there were numerous experiments on weightlessness or zero gravity, involving many different fields: physics, medicine, biology. There was a whole series of experiments on the effects of gravity. Because of these experiments, we began to research how cells relate to each other, how life comes about, how we have evolved, how materials behave. And there are many other benefits that we take for granted now that would not have been possible without space exploration and research. As an example, we now have satellites that transmit information practically in real time; in other words, any news or any developments are disseminated instantaneously and this gives us an overall view of the world, which has revolutionised the way in which we understand the world and relate to one another. We are no longer as isolated as we were. We know that any event happening at any time, anywhere in the world, can be reported on the news in a matter of hours and we take this for granted. The same applies to travelling using GPS. We can act as though navigation is no longer a problem. Why? Because we have managed to create a system, a network of 48 satellites in space. And we have also managed to carry large and heavy cargo into space.

What is it like living with other astronauts in space?
It is difficult, because you are in a very small space and you have to share everything. It is like crossing the Atlantic in a small sailing boat. You would be short of space. There are specific needs that have to be met when you are living so close together and everyone has to adapt to each other.

What do you think about tourism in space for those that can afford the trip?
It is like everything else in life. Initially, only people with a lot of money could afford to buy a ticket to board a plane. As the industry grew and received finance, it began to design more efficient and comfortable planes, finally creating a form of mass transportation. The same has happened with many of humanity’s inventions. The first cars were only available to the wealthier upper classes. Thanks to the large amounts of money paid for these cars, the factories were able to invest money in R&D, allowing them to make more efficient vehicles that were then accessible to more people.

Which countries are currently the dominant players in space?
The US is still the superpower in space, at least for the moment, followed by Russia, which specialises in the construction of rockets that can carry very heavy cargo into space. Progress in Europe is not as efficient and very difficult, but that is to be expected, as ten times less public money is allocated to space programmes in Europe. We do stand out in the areas in which we specialise and we are on a par with the US or Russia in that sense. For instance, the European cargo rocket easily competes with the American or Russian, although the Russian cargo rocket is probably more cost-efficient.
I was at the last International Astronautical Congress and learnt that India is only waiting for the Authorities to sign the necessary documents before it implements its own astronaut training programme and anything else that is needed. The only problem in the US is that space exploration budgets began to decline in real economic terms months before Armstrong even stepped on the Moon and they have been falling steadily ever since.

Perhaps that is because there are more pressing problems on Earth, such as fighting hunger, disease or providing education, for example.
Of course, I agree, but the only way to solve many of these problems is through R&D. As an example, I would cite the extensive research into climate change and the fact that we now know a lot more about it thanks to the observation of the planet from space. It is also true that the current lack of funding in the western sphere has meant that other great powers, such as China, have been able to catch up and meet the challenges of space exploration with very little funding, but this is also thanks to the fact that they have had access to the knowledge and skills that other countries developed beforehand through experimentation and research.
The USA and Russia have been investing in space exploration and research for the last 50 years, under the belief that it ultimately boosts the self-confidence of a nation. It constitutes an enormous stimulus to education and training. People perceive that their country is at the cutting edge of something as thought provoking and awe-inspiring as outer space. The US is a world power because it dominates space. China and India have taken note of this.

Space tourism is no different to what humanity has experienced with other inventions.

What would you say is the key to the USA’s dominance of the space race?
The USA is sufficiently open to public debates as a country. Where space exploration is concerned, we have yet to see what President Obama’s approach will be. Nevertheless, the US is the most technologically advanced country in the world and should be able to put a man on Mars in coming years. It is also a question of budgets: NASA received only 0.5% of the US’s Federal Budget this year, which is not very much, but it is still 10 times more than the sum invested in Europe. If there is something that needs to be done industrially, it can be done in the US, which is currently the benchmark country. Until 20th January, the US refused to partner or collaborate with any other nation for the project of establishing a permanent base on the Moon by 2020. Now it is all up in the air.
Clearly, the US’s policy with regard to space is to consolidate its dominant position, although it is open to cooperation where certain matters are concerned.

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