INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT

October's Sky at Night episode examined what it takes to become an astronaut. But why, wonders George Dransfield, is the opportunity still not available to everyone?

- George Dransfield

Who hasn't watched a show like Gladiators or Total Wipeout and thought: "Yeah, I could do that"? Or even: "I bet I could do better"? In my case, that thought also extended to - wait for it - astronaut training. Yes, I can almost hear everyone's eyebrows collectively shooting skyward. But in those days I used to spend my time running marathons and doing triathlons (okay, one triathlon), so when I saw footage of NASA's Chosen Ones doing underwater training and zero gravity flights, I thought it looked... easy?

I say "in those days" because obviously something happened to put me firmly in my place. Early in 2018, I went to a residential teacher-training course hosted by the European Space Agency in Belgium. The goal was to equip science teachers to use space in their teaching, but there were also some activities that were just for fun, including getting to play around with kit that simulated elements of astronaut training.

I'm pleased to report I was a natural at Moonwalking. However, I did poorly at riding a giant gyroscope. Imagine a Venn diagram of screaming, crying and hysterical laughing – the intersection gives you an idea of the sound I made throughout my ride.