On April 5 an exhibition of photographs and children’s drawings called First in Space opened at the Photocenter on Gogelevsky Boulevard in Moscow. The exhibition was organized as part of an eponymous campaign in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight. One of the guests of the opening ceremony was cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, a recognized Hero of the Russian Federation and Deputy Head of Russia’s Cosmonaut Training Center. We spoke with him about his impressions of the exhibition, how difficult a cosmonaut’s job is, what language is spoken on the international space station and why do we bother to fly into space.
“I was lucky enough to join the cosmonauts’ brigade in 1987, and most of them I know better [than these ones], but it is nonetheless pleasant to gaze upon my more senior comrades and these scenes from 50 years ago,” Yuri Gidzenko says, standing next to the rare photographs at the exhibition.
“Yuri Gagarin represents not just the past; he is something our cosmonautics today. Neil Armstrong, the first cosmonaut to step out onto the moon once said this about Yuri Gagarin: ‘He invited us all into space.’ And any cosmonaut would sign to this. Thanks to Gagarin, and thanks to the people who stood behind him – the academics and our brilliant constructors – Russia continues to maintain a leading position, alongside the US, in space exploration and is an equal participant of the ISS.”
– Having reached outer space, do you feel some sort of special sensations?
– When in orbit, you have this prosaic work going on. But there you really do get a sense that you are of the earth. After all, volcano eruptions, sandstorms, oil spills and basically all catastrophes are rather visible from space.
– In general, why fly into space? Earlier this was considered an issue of prestige and utmost important. Is there a practical side to this? After all, it is to say the least expensive…
– Right now cosmonauts are solving a multitude of practical tasks. We carry out experiments that cannot be done on earth. This work also the ongoing monitoring of the earth – uncovering anthropogenic and natural changes, measuring harvest levels, searching for fish, and so on.
– And how dangerous is the job of the modern cosmonaut?
– Of course, in each flight there are several tense stages in which there are risk elements, mainly launch and re-entry, but in general there is not really anything dangerous. All of the motions have long been worked through.
– Russian was the first language to be spoken in space. What language to cosmonauts use now? Is there any need to defend Russian as a “space” language?
– The working language of the ISS is English. I don’t think that there is any need to somehow confirm the status of a language of communication in space. We study English while the American and European cosmonauts study Russian. When they come we usually speak in a mixture of languages.
– What are the prospects for Russia in space?
– Our prospects are not bad. Today we are bona fide participants of space exploration.
