To boldly go where no man has gone before (From Northwich Guardian)

To boldly go where no man has gone before

2:00pm Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News

TWO Northwich men are hoping to boldly go where no man has gone before and blast off into orbit.

Rudheath man Kris Goodier and Weaverham man Stuart Hall are both competing for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to go into space as part of the Lynx Space Academy competition.

Thousands of wannabe astronauts from across the UK have entered the competition, but only the top 200 will make it to the next round.

For 31-year-old Kris, things are going well as with 597 votes, he is already in an impressive 87th place.

“I’ve had a lot of support from my friends and family,” said Kris.

“But everyone I know has voted now so I need to reach a wider audience if I’m to stay in that position until voting closes in April.

“It would be a childhood dream come true to go into space.”

Top-voted candidates will take part in a series of NASA-style tests at the Lynx Space Academy challenge weekend in London this summer.

From there, just four will progress to the Global Space Camp in Orlando, Florida, where they will learn what it takes to be a real astronaut with training in taking off, coping with zero gravity and re-entering the atmosphere.

This is where Kris hopes he will have the advantage.

“I’ve already completed a zero gravity course through my work at o2,” said Kris.

“It was part of a sales incentive and I was sent to NASA in Florida to do the zero gravity so that’s a good start if I get to that stage.”

The trip itself will see one lucky UK competitor and 21 others from around the globe venture just outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Kris said: “I’ve had people asking if I’ll get to go to the International Space Station which obviously I won’t.

“I’m quite excited about it all though – it really is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“My wife thinks it’s a great idea – she’s asked them to give me a one way ticket.”

Fellow competitor Stuart Hall is hoping he will be the one who gets to circle the Earth in 2014.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said the 29-year-old.

“It would be great to go into space and be like Neil Armstrong – to have my name up there next to his would be fantastic and would look great on my CV.

“When I saw the advert on television for the competition I just thought I’d go for it, I saw it and just thought, ‘I could do that’ so I went for it – I could do with the peace and quiet too.

“My girlfriend said to go for it too, so I did.”

The vehicle technician hasn’t been as successful as Kris with his voting so far, after friends thought he was sending them a virus online.

“I posted the link to my profile on social media for people to vote on but a lot of people messaged back saying it was a virus – obviously it isn’t,” said the father-of-one.

“I would really love to be selected and get to go into space and just prove everyone wrong, even if I just get to the next round and get to go to the Space Academy in London – I just want to get as far as I can.”

To vote for Kris, visit lynxapollo.com/en_GB/105074/kris-goodier

To vote for Stuart, visit lynxapollo.com/en_GB/23394/stuart-hall

You can vote for more than one person.