Astronaut to put you in space

PRIVATE astronaut and polar explorer Eric Philips OAM is promising to provide a birds eye view of Earth and deliver a unique perspective of what it's like in space during his free community talk at the Mt Beauty Community Centre at 7pm on Thursday, 19 June. The Tawonga South resident made history in April when he became the first person into space under the Australian flag, aboard the Fram2 mission. It was the first human spaceflight to orbit over the north and south poles, with he and his other three crew members launching from Cape Canaveral and completing 55 polar orbits over 3.5 days, reaching an altitude of 440 km. The Alpine Observer/Myrtleford Times spoke with Eric last week, while he was in Los Angeles completing a debrief on the Space Ex mission, and about to head to France to present at the United Nations' ocean conference. "I'm really looking forward to the talk back home," he said. "It is for all ages...I hope kids will come along to learn about space as I grew up in the era of the Apollo missions and was inspired by them. "I'll be using a lot of visuals in the talk....personal vision from space and direct insights into what's it's like to be up there and be an astronaut. "I'll also talk about rocket assembly, propulsion, g-forces and free-falling back to Earth at 500kmh. "Our orbits over the north and south poles provided some amazing photos and vision. "Seeing the north and south poles with your own eyes from up there offers a unique perspective...the view from Google Earth is very much curated." Eric's free public talk has been organised by the Mount Beauty Rotary Club. The 63-year-old has spent much of his life seeking adventure as an Australian polar explorer and guide, pioneering expeditions across the earth’s most extreme environments. Alongside his friend Jon Muir, he became the first Australian to ski to both the north and south poles, destinations he has since reached more than 30 times, often pioneering new routes into unexplored regions. He founded Icetrek Expeditions and Equipment, but these days says he is more of a "spectator" when he accompanies his daughter on the expeditions. "I'm tapering down now...Suzy (wife) and I have built our new passive home at Tawonga South and we're loving life there," Eric said. "I enjoy bike riding each day and skiing - cross country and telemarking - during the winters."

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