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AIBU?

To point out that, exciting as Tim Peake's trip to the space station is......

66 replies

BertrandRussell · 15/12/2015 10:18

.....he is not the first British astronaut, and I can't remember anything like this hype when she made her trip?

To point out that, exciting as Tim Peake's trip to the space station is......
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BikeRunSki · 17/12/2015 07:27

I remember Helen Sharman well, and used to live in Sheffield. I was an undergraduate Physics student at the time, so really interested. I've told my DC about her in connection with all the spacey stuff this week.

I think the big deal about Tim Peake is that he is the first Briton on the ISS; he's publically funded; there's a lot more capacity to make a fuss!!! There was a huge fuss when Helen Sharman went into space, but there was no FB, Twitter, 24 hour news etc. She was all over the media - there was just less media.

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GloriaSmellens · 17/12/2015 07:15

Sorry but the 'tim peake is just getting loads of coverage simply because he is a bloke' premise, just doesn't work for this thread. Shame the OP couldn't come back and admit SWBU!

As an aside, DH and I watched the documentary and came.to the conclusion that TP is.one of.those.annoying people in life - intelligent, good at bloody everything, super fit and comes across as a really nice person to boot!

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WeThreeMythicalKings · 17/12/2015 07:00

Helen was on the radio as lift off happened. She isn't forgotten, she's still hugely admired.

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Snoopadoop · 17/12/2015 06:58

And can I add the inspirational physics teacher was a woman too (Miss Palmer/Mrs Stanley - if you're reading).

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Snoopadoop · 17/12/2015 06:57

It's a shame OP never came back. I hope she at least read it and realised how massive Helen Sharman was and what she meant to a lot of people.
I'm a physicist probably because of 3 people. An inspirational physics teacher, Marsha Ivins (an astronaut who came to my (girls) school to give us a talk and answer questions and Helen Sharman.

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Narp · 17/12/2015 06:51

21, not 12!

Let's not forget, news has changed during this time, and the desire and ability to get blow-by-blow accounts of the pre-launch and launch process

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Narp · 17/12/2015 06:49

There was loads of hype about Helen Sharman, so I don't agree. I remember it well (i was 12)

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Enjolrass · 17/12/2015 06:46

It's a shame OP never came back. I hope she at least read it and realised how massive Helen Sharman was and what she meant to a lot of people.

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GiddyOnZackHunt · 16/12/2015 23:46

I can name very few people who've been into space. Helen Sharman is pretty high up the list for me.

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SanityClause · 16/12/2015 23:41

It was MEGA when she went into space! I heard her speaking on Radio 4 the other day, actually.

There is a girls' school near where I live which has a block named for her. It doesn't seem that long ago, actually.

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specialsubject · 16/12/2015 22:43

as everyone else says OP, you weren't paying attention last time.

Tim Peake is the first British man in space. Helen Sharman is the first British woman in space, and the first Briton of either gender.

both launched by the Russians on a Soyuz rocket, which has a much better safety record than the shuttle. Both science graduates with years of training and additional qualifications.

REAL role models, not those I-want-it-now brats on the no-talent shows.

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whois · 16/12/2015 22:36

There was loads of coverage about Helen Sharman at the time, and quite right too. I met her when she came to do a talk in my home city. Was super interesting.

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ethelb · 16/12/2015 22:06

Being a cosmonaught doesn't mean you aren't an astronaught.

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emwithme · 15/12/2015 15:40

There was definitely loads of hype when Helen Sharman went into space, it was all over Newsround and Blue Peter as well as the grown-up news. It was a BIG thing.

But - and I am putting my pedant hat on here - Tim Peakes is the first (properly) British Astronaut. Other men who have been on NASA missions have either taken US citizenship/naturalisation or have had dual nationality, and Helen Sharman was a Cosmonaut (because she went on a Russian-led mission).

I'm now going to take my pedant hat off and cry over the fact that I have no life and care about shit like this

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treaclesoda · 15/12/2015 15:12

I was 15 when Helen Sharman went into space and at the time it felt like it was on the news for months beforehand (although I accept that my perception of time may be totally wrong) so I would honestly say that it feels like there was more hype over her mission, not less. Especially considering that we weren't awash with wall to wall news coverage and social media the way we are today.

But, regardless, it was a fantastic achievement for her, just as today's launch is a fantastic achievement. Celebrating today's achievement doesn't have to detract from the achievements of those who have gone before.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 15/12/2015 15:06

YABU

With bells on.

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Enjolrass · 15/12/2015 14:59

scallion me and dh had that exact conversation. He is gone 6 months and add on all the training etc.

She is definitely a hero.

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LurkingOne · 15/12/2015 14:46

What are you going on about...

It was hugely covered, wall to wall. It was 1991, so we didn't have the technology to show the launch live on my computer and media was much more narrow, pretty much 4 channels of TV and the press, but it was the main headline on every single media outlet.

so yabmassivelyu

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DinoSnores · 15/12/2015 14:31

scallion, there is a real nice bit of Chris Hadfield's autobiography when he talks about just that! Definitely recommending reading it.

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RedToothBrush · 15/12/2015 14:13

Tim said in his Horizon Programme (well worth a watch on the iplayer if you've not seen) that family was a very important part of his team, in the same was that his fellow astronauts on board and his support crew on the ground were and he couldn't do it without them and their sacrifices too. He needed his wife to talk about elements of the trip he couldn't talk about with his colleagues. He put her on an equal footing to anyone else involved in his mission.

I got the impression that the whole programme was set up with the family involvement in mind; for example at the last launch Tim shadowed the actual crew as a member of the back up crew but his wife ALSO went to the preparation and launch to prepare for when it would be Tim's turn.

If I recall correctly, Chris Hadfield echoed this sentiment and viewed him going to space as an achievement as a family.

I think that's right and its good that the astronauts themselves recognise that its a team event not a solo achievement and are strongly putting that message out there, if given the opportunity.

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scalliondays · 15/12/2015 14:01

Yes - I remember Helen Sharman and lots of hype for the time. Of course the real hero of the day is Tim ' s wife who not only has to put up with the worry of it all whilst looking after their 2 young sons but will have people endlessly telling her forever how wonderful he is. Can't help thinking that blasting off into space is a doddle compared to staying at home!

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TrojanWhore · 15/12/2015 13:57
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CordeliaFrost · 15/12/2015 13:55

sashh - sorry but it's not crap.

Project Juno was a private British space programme, funded by businesses, who BOUGHT a seat on a Russian mission.

Helen Sharman was therefore, not an ESA recruited astronaut, and wasn't the first OFFICIAL British astronaut in space. She was however the first Briton in space.

All here...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Juno

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Snoopadoop · 15/12/2015 13:02

Bollocks, there was hype! I remember it well. It was just before social media and all the stuff that goes with that. Helen Sharman was Britain's first person in space. And there have been many other British born Americans since. Tim Peake is the first British 'astronaut' as in employed astronaut to go to the space station. It's exciting. It was equally as exciting when Helen Sharman went up in a shuttle and it was a big thing. Maybe you slept through it.

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DinoSnores · 15/12/2015 12:55

I remember loads about Helen Sharman going into space and I would have been at primary school. I definitely remember Blue Peter and Newsround, that a PP mentioned above.

Tim Peake is the first only-British-national astronaut not on a private contract, but that doesn't take away from the achievements of all the other astronauts that went before him.

Things are going to be different this time. Tim Peake will be on Twitter/Facebook, we can watch it all live. Media is just different nowadays, so it is silly to come out with a pseudo-argument about how it is different because Helen Sharman is female.

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