If you were stuck in the cramped International Space Station you’d want to share it with UK astronaut Tim Peake who brought his show to The Hexagon, Reading.
Tim, a boyish and charming 50-year-old, described with passion and humour the story of his journey to space, as he bounded round the Hexagon stage in his bright blue overalls last Thursday (March 9).
Standing out on his left arm was the Union Flag badge, a rare sight in the world of space.
In 2016, Tim was the first British astronaut to visit the space station (ISS) to do a space walk while orbiting the earth.
Amid tales of doing somersaults in no gravity aboard the ISS and eating his ‘treat dish’ bacon sandwiches, he also described the dangers of space work.
Tim’s spacewalk tasks included repairs to a solar array power source with a colleague astronaut. The colleague had to be whisked back inside the ISS when his space helmet started filling with water. ‘Walking’ outside your craft is the most dangerous part of living and working in space.
We knew, of course, that he survived the three attempts at docking on arrival at the ISS, but he told the story clearly and with contained drama. His words were enhanced by the video pictures on the screen behind him. The third attempt was indeed successful. The need for calm, self-control and well-trained action was clear.
And yes, he did tell us how you go to the loo in space, with a video showing the equipment needed. He told us that most of the urine created on board was cleaned to become astronauts’ drinking water.
Working days on the ISS have packed schedules with tasks to perform including regular vacuuming ‘housework’. But they are allowed a lighter workload at the weekends. For science buffs at the shows there are some good facts and figures about fuel load, speeds and experiments in space.
Tim also described the emotional and wonder side of space travel well, including the 16 sunsets and 16 sunrises they saw each day.
“Each one is spectacular,” he said. He saw the Himalayas and oceans, the aurora borealis at huge and amazing scale and billions of stars.
Tim, grew up near Chichester, and says he left school with three “unexceptional A-levels”. He went on to become an Apache helicopter test pilot in the Army. He was later selected with five classmates from 8,000 applicants to become a European Space Agency astronaut.
He is doing 25 shows on his UK tour, the final ones at The Rose Theatre, Kingston on April 2, at 2pm and 4.30pm. It would be a great outing for older children and teens. The adults at The Hexagon had plenty to enjoy.
Details of future shows are at: https://www.timpeake.com/
