”Sometimes I missed the force of gravity”
As astronaut Christer Fuglesang visited KTH´s Main Campus on Thursday 25 January 2007, hundreds of students from the high schools affiliated to KTH had the opportunity to hear his personal account of his space adventure.
Fuglesang created a general applause as he met with students and other visitors from the general public. The seminar had been arranged by KTH jointly with newspaper Dagens Nyheter, and Fuglesang demonstrated a newly produced film about the event, with his personal comments about the stay at space station ISS. Questions from his youngish auditorium concerned everything – from spiritual experiences when out in space to what was the most nervous experience of all he had encountered. He retorted by saying that it was not particularly nervous at all, except possibly during start-off, and during the first one of his three walks out into space.
– Was there anything in particular that you missed while you were up there? someone asked.
– Yes, he answered. I sometimes did miss the earth´s force of gravity!
He also described the everyday chores aboard the space station as more tricky and time-consuming than otherwise.
– Just as when you are out camping! Everything gets a little more difficult…
The Seminar was rounded off by a panel discussion with students and researchers from KTH and Stockholm University, led by Karin Bojs, scientific editor of Dagens Nyheter. Finally Magnus Näslund from House of Science, delivered a speech about the search for possible extra-terrestrial life forms out in universe.
Christer Fuglesang has a degree in Engineering Physics from KTH; he is also an Affiliated Professor here. After the seminar he returned to President Anders Flodström the pin in solid gold with the KTH logotype that he carried during his 13 days in space.