|
Russian cosmonauts visit Spaceport
60
schoolchildren from Liverpool and Wirral scooped the trip of a
lifetime – a visit to Spaceport and a chance to meet 2 Russian
cosmonauts. The lucky youngsters, from Egremont Primary School
in Wallasey, Wirral and Pleasant Street Primary School in Liverpool,
spent almost 2 hours listening and talking to Alexander Volkov and
Alexander Martynov.
Both cosmonauts talked to the children about space, with Alexander
Volkov reliving his yearlong visit to MIR space station.
Alexander Volkov spoke in Russian and Alexander Martynov translated
his words – and the children inundated the cosmonauts with
questions.
How do sleep with no gravity? “Upright and inside a
sealed bag. It’s pretty windy even though it is enclosed but it’s
pretty comfortable. Let’s just say I didn’t have any problems
sleeping!”
What was space like? “The weightlessness is amazing.
You can float like a bird inside the space station and the view of
the Earth is like nothing you could imagine.”
Was space food nice? “It was OK but everything tastes
the same. The chocolate and sweets were good but nowhere near as
good as the food back home.”
When you landed back on Earth in your capsule what did it feel
like? “Landing isn’t easy, we had a parachute to bring us
down but it certainly wasn’t soft like I expected! The most
difficult thing is to adapt to the gravity back on Earth, I could
only walk with someone helping me but within 3 months I was ready to
go up again.”
Throughout the question and answer session the cosmonauts took the
chance to reinforce the importance of science and discovery.
Alexander Volkov added:- “I was 13 when I saw Yuri Gagarin go
into space and I decided there and then that that was what I wanted
to be. I studied hard at school, then college and university and I
never looked back. You can achieve anything in life if you have the
passion, desire and commitment.”
Alexander Martynov added:- “We are working on a manned flight
to Mars with countries across the world. It is within our reach
within the next 15 years. And, who knows, one of you sitting in this
room could be on that flight. All it takes is your desire.”
During their visit, the 2 Alexanders spotted a Russian internal
spacesuit belonging to a former colleague of theirs Vladimir Lyakhov.
Worn on MIR space station during a visit by Lyakhov in 1988, the
space suit was bought at Christies Auction house in London earlier
this year. It was Lyakhov’s last mission and, according to a
laughing Alexander Volkov; “He certainly wouldn’t fit into it
now! Let’s just say he is much, much bigger now than he was then!”
Ken Moss, Spaceport Manager, said:- “Very few children get an
opportunity to speak to a real Russian cosmonaut. These children got
to speak to 2! We are delighted such pre-eminent cosmonauts,
such as Alexander and Alexander, have taken the time to visit
Spaceport and talk to the children in such as fun and humorous way.
The visit backs up what Spaceport is all about; it is both
educational and enjoyable.”
Alexander Volkov has flown on several flights, including 1 to Mir,
during the 1980s and 1990s. He was awarded the rank of Hero of the
Soviet Union and Space Pilot of the USSR, Order of Lenin, Order of
October Revolution and the Golden Star medal for the courage and
heroism shown during his flights. He has also worked as Commander of
the Cosmonauts Team at the Cosmonauts Training Center, preparing
Russian and foreign cosmonauts for future flights to space stations.
Alexander Martynov worked in the Russian Mission Control Centre from
1968 until 1992 as Head of Ballistics and controlled MIR space
station for many years. He designed re-entry modules and controlled
their flights to provide soft landing on the Earth, Mars, Venus and
other planets of the Solar system. He is a Doctor of Technical
Science and is the author of 120 scientific articles and six books
dedicated to spacecraft motion control in planetary atmospheres.
|
Christmas
shopping hazardous for females
WOMEN in the
UK may find Christmas shopping bad for their wallets and their
health, according to the latest data from National Accident
Helpline.
With the Christmas
shopping season well and truly upon us, National Accident Helpline
is sending a caution to female shoppers to take care. National
Accident Helpline data shows during the month of December, enquiries
from women involved in retail accidents rose 96% between 2003 and
2006.
National Accident Helpline Director, John Campbell, said each year
their call centre receives more than 100,000 enquiries. “Over
the last 6 years National Accident Helpline has referred 13,078
people who’ve had a shopping accident to one of our no-win no fee
solicitors,” he said. “68% of these referrals
were for shopping accidents involving women. During the
festive season we receive more enquiries about retail accidents from
females and reports show that it’s women who have to do the majority
of Christmas shopping for households.
By far the most common causes of retail accidents, according to our
calls, are from trips, slips and falls in shopping centres, stores
and supermarkets. We would caution female shoppers to be alert
to the following when Christmas shopping:
* Christmas displays which may not be adequately secured or
extend out into walkways
* protruding
clothing racks and stands set at shoulder or head height
* fallen fruit
and vegetables in supermarkets which can cause nasty slips and falls
* heavily
polished flooring in department stores and wet-spills in
supermarkets.”
Research released last month by Deloitte, showed that although 7
million Britons are expected to shop online this festive season,
stressed shoppers still enjoy the experience of traditional high
streets, department stores, supermarkets and out of town retail
parks for their Christmas presents. The report also highlights
a shrinking Christmas trading period meaning more people are
delaying their Christmas shopping until later in December.
“We expect that even with the popularity of online shopping,
traditional shopping areas will be busy and congested this season,
especially at crunch-time in the week before 25 December,”
John Campbell said. “This places more pressure on
people’s sense of caution. If you are misfortunate and suffer
a slip or trip whilst Christmas shopping you should report it the
store or centre management immediately and seek a doctor’s advice.
As a responsible citizen it’s your responsibility to report
accidents to ensure that they don’t happen to someone else.
National Accident Helpline provides retail accident victims with
confidential advice on the process of personal injury claims and
outlines what is involved. We then put valid cases in touch with a
specialist personal injury solicitor so that they can cover the
costs of their medical treatment and lost-income time for being of
work.”
For further information or advice on personal injuries visit
www.national-accident-helpline.co.uk
or call free on 0800 2798 263.
WHAT MAKES A SCOUSER?
Museum of Liverpool
free public debate
MEMBERS of the
public are invited to join a debate about the new People’s City
gallery at the Museum of Liverpool. Have your say on what it means
to be a Liverpudlian, the Liverpool spirit and how living in the
city affects your identity. The debate will take place at 1800-2000
hours on Wednesday 12 December 2007 at World Museum Liverpool. The
discussion is the third in a series of public forums giving people
the opportunity to comment on the main themes that will be focused
on in the Museum of Liverpool.
o Community historian Ray Costello will be asking ‘what makes a
true Scouser?’
o Jon Belchem, editor
of Liverpool 800: Culture, Character and History, will be discussing
how place impacts on personal identity
o Local historian
Frank Carlyle will be investigating the Liverpool spirit
People’s City is 1 of 4 main areas in the new museum. It will focus
on the rich history of diversity in the city from the Stone Age
settlers who left their imprints in the sand in Formby through to
migrants and seafarers arriving to look for employment from all over
the world. The gallery will include themes such as housing and
health, opportunity and deprivation, social reform, religion and
trade unionism and a key exhibit will be the model of the proposed
Liverpool Catholic Cathedral by world-famous architect Edwin Lutyens.
Free refreshments available from 5.45pm. Places are limited, please
call 0151 478 4543 to book.
 |
