Officially, astronaut Dr Michael Foale was flying as an American for Nasa when he performed his first spacewalk on 9 February 1995. But if there was ever any doubt that the Lincolnshire man, who was raised in Cambridge, was also very much British, it was soon dispelled by his first words relayed to his British father and American mother watching in a TV studio in London.
Peering down at the bright blue orb 240 miles below, Foale is reported to have said in true British understatement, "Gosh, it's high, isn't it?"
At the time, the British government didn't sponsor human spaceflight. So that meant aspiring British astronauts had to hitch a ride with another country. For example, in 1991, Briton Helen Sharman joined the Russians on the Mir space station.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
In June 1987, Michael Foale had been selected to fly with Nasa, and it was during the American Space Shuttle mission STS-63 in 1995 that Foale first stepped out into space – the first time a Briton had done so. He was joined by Bernard Harris, who, incidentally, became the first African-American to perform the same feat.
The job Nasa had lined up for the two astronauts wasn't exactly glamorous. The purpose of the spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA) in the jargon, was to test some modifications that had been made to their space suits. That meant making Foale and Harris as cold as possible by moving the Space Shuttle, Discovery,away from the sun. The temperature inside Foale's gloves fell to -6c.
If that wasn't bad enough, Foale also had to perform an endurance test in passing a piece of equipment weighing over a tonne to Harris. With both astronauts complaining of being "unacceptably cold", Nasa cut the spacewalk short. Foale and Harris had spent four hours and 39 minutes outside with the stars.
As recently as last month, official British astronaut Tim Peake followed in Foale's cosmic footsteps. And as an astronaut with the European Space Agency, he proudly wore the Union Jack on his sleeve.
-
Coventry Building Society bids £780m for Co-operative Bank - what could it mean for customers?Coventry Building Society has put in an offer of £780 million to buy Co-operative Bank. When will the potential deal happen and what could it mean for customers?
-
Review: Three magnificent Beachcomber resorts in MauritiusMoneyWeek Travel Ruth Emery explores the Indian Ocean island from Beachcomber resorts Shandrani, Trou aux Biches and Paradis
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
