"I recently heard from a little girl, which means a lot to me.
There was a picture of her sitting in the rocket with me that said, "I'm going to space with Nora.
This is more than I want.
"So started a fascinating afternoon chat at the Guinness warehouse in Dublin, where Dr. Nora pendeneca is a native of Ballina and his goal is to be the first Irish to enter space
It is a lofty ambition, but if someone has laid the foundation for such an adventure, it is Peng Dingkang.
Ready, a step up. At that time, 35-year-
As one of the 12 people from all over the world, old went to Canada --
The first Irish ever.
Participate in the training of the upper middle level (possum) polar suborbital science.
It involves high
Flight Training, zero gravity parabolic flight training, hypoxia training, test and evaluation of spaces suit.
In short, all the preparations that must be done to turn you into an astronaut.
So how does a person go from being interested in space to traveling there becoming a reality, and why do we sit at the brewery and discuss this? The answer is that for people, the key to space travel like Peng Dingkang is likely to be private businesses.
While space travel has been a concern for international agencies such as NASA and the European Space Agency, more and more private space companies are getting closer to providing commercial space travel to the public.
Companies like Elon Musk's Space X, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Blue Origins are working on the technology it needs, eventually, well-trained scientists like Peng Dingkang are needed to help test and improve their products.
Meanwhile, Guinness is no more important than engaging in some marketing shenanigans, celebrating the last November International Beer Festival, announcing that it sets a challenge for brewers on how to brew beer suitable for drinking in space.
Tastes work differently in high altitude areas, liquid at zero-
But the theory holds that by spending time on this issue, a variety of technological breakthroughs are possible.
"It is clear that there is limited demand for space drinks now, but with the rise of space tourism, these things will be necessary," Peng said . ".
"The commercial side of space travel will be huge.
In 2015 alone, more investment was invested in space launch --
Ups is more than the sum of the first 15 years.
"It will start with sub
Orbit, not around the Earth, but more than 100 kilometers into space flight.
But after 50 years, who knows what is possible, "Peng Dingkang's interest in space was sparked by her family holiday to visit cousins in Cleveland when she was 11.
In addition to all the usual tours, the family visited NASA, which will prove to be a turning point for a little girl in Ballina.
"I was fascinated.
Outside of my experience, it is so different.
Amazing photos and displays of spaceships and astronauts.
I was fascinated and never left me since then.
"That visit brought me to engineering and to a career that put me on the path of today," she said . ".
"Even now, when I go to the Kennedy Space Center or the NASA building, there's the same sense of excitement.
Intoxicating.
"Since his first visit, Peng has been receiving a doctorate in aviation engineering at the University of Limerick and is currently a faculty member at the International Space University.
So far, the highlight of her career has been her training in the Possum program.
This brought her to high G.
Strength training on an acrobatic aircraft, uit suit training using the Final Frontier Design (FFD) suit, as well as hypoxia training, which includes low oxygen training, can lead to slight dizziness, slowness and
Wearing a pressurized spacesuit, she climbed up the simulator and wondered what it was like to wear a heavy uniform aircraft, which, as part of the advanced spacecraft exit testing process, had to go through the process of survival at sea.
Training can be a real deal, but she estimates she needs to raise about 250,000 euros, and exactly how she plans to get into the rocket for a real start.
"My bet is to start in the business space, probably through companies like Blue Origin.
So far, they haven't started selling seats at the launch, but the PoSSUM project I'm involved in is a citizen science project that has a good connection with business companies in the US.
"As a scientist, not a tourist, I will fly.
The idea is that you get sponsorship and then do scientific experiments in space.
You may be on the same flight as some tourists, but the purpose of this trip is to do scientific research.
"Surprisingly, given how many articles she wanted to be" the first Irish in space ", she said she was not worried about who would get there first.
"It's not really my motivation.
This whole dream seemed impossible when I was 11 years old, so the idea that it became credible was incredible to me.
But the whole area of space travel has come to fruition and is opening up . "
"Now there is a business space company that is a 'unicornet' company. . .
The company that sent the payload into space is more than a billion dollars.
I just thought, what will happen in five more years, so I want to be ready once there is a chance.
Of course it would be great to be the first one, but I want to find space for myself and not others.
"How much time does Peng Dingkang have left to realize her dream --
Is space travel a game for young people? You will imagine that the astronaut's physical condition will reach its peak. Although this is true, age is not actually an obstacle to your imagination.
"I think it's more important to be healthy than to be older, especially on commercial flights.
"You obviously won't have a blood pressure problem or something like that, but you do need to be healthy," she said . ".
"I went to the gym to exercise so don't worry.
As for age, people entered space in their 50 s.
Peggy Whitson was 57 when she went, she was the commander of the International Space Station, and John Glenn was 77 when she went in 1998.
"I asked Peng Dingkang if she felt like a role model for women and girls in society.
Called STEM.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
She was puzzled by the question, paused for a moment, and answered.
"I have been asked this question before, but I really don't know how to answer it.
When I was in elementary and middle school, it might be a bit unusual to be so interested in science.
"But once I get to my undergraduate level, it's normal that we're all learning the same thing," she said . ".
"In general, seeing something like sex engineering toys does make me a little annoyed because there is no reason to create false divisions on gender.
Girls in college don't have a pink form to fill out the project-
Why would they be in college for me it's never been a "well, she's a girl" or "He's a boy" situation.
This is a case of "How good are you doing", "I don't think 'How can we get more girls interested in stem ', because I don't think there is any relationship between distinguishing people by gender and encouraging them to learn STEM subjects.
Let's treat our children as different people with unique interests and abilities.