When anxious mum-of-two Mandy Sellers watches hubby Piers blast off to space from the roof of the Kennedy Space Center today she will take comfort that her husband is carrying a little reminder of home.

 

For each morning, as Piers is woken by Houston controllers, the song Clocks by Coldplay will be played in to the shuttle Discovery.

 

The track was chose for him by his family - Mandy, Imogen, 21, and Tom, 18. "All four of us love it," says Mandy.

 

Going into space was a boyhood dream for Piers, from Crowborough, East Sussex. Speaking on the eve of the launch, Mandy described her pride in an exclusive interview with The Daily Mirror.

 

"I'll just stand there with my fingers crossed and my arms round my kids and feel very proud," the 50-year-old from Hebden Bridge, West Yorks, says. "He's wanted to do this since he was a little boy. I'm the grounded one and he's the risk-taker."

 

Piers, 51, will be doing three spacewalks on his 13-day mission to test safety changes introduced to the fleet after the 2003 Columbia disaster that killed all seven crew. It is his second trip to the stars, having been up with Atlantis in 2002.

 

It has been a long journey to this moment for the couple who met in Leeds. He was studying biometeorology, she was a student nurse. To pursue his space dream he needed to go to the US and two years after they married she found herself in Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC, with three suitcases and just 60 dollars in cash. Two days later, Piers started work as a research scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre. When Piers was finally accepted into Nasa's astronaut training corps in 1996, they moved to Houston, Texas, the heart of Nasa's astronaut community.

 

There have been sacrifices along the way and Mandy, who has continued nursing, shares the longings of all those who have been moved away from their roots. Mandy and Piers have raised their children to know their British background. "They were born in America but we've got two British kids really, with British ways. They say things like "biscuits" instead of "cookies," says Mandy.

 

BUT it is only she and her husband who truly know what it is to miss things like Marmite and English pubs. When they go home to visit family, takeaway fish and chips is one of the first meals on the menu. "And we miss curry so much it's unbelievable," she sighs. "I'm still homesick for England."

 

Mandy won't be the only one at the launch pad with her fingers crossed. Also at Florida's Cape Canaveral are Piers's mother Lyndsay, 78, and his four brothers. Three have flown in from Britain and one from New Zealand - along with their wives and 10 children. They all know there is extra danger attached to this mission which some say should not go ahead. Her mother-in-law Lyndsay, from Elstead, Surrey, says: "Poor Mandy is probably suffering more this time than last time," she reveals.

 

"Columbia comes into our feelings, you can't avoid that. I have spent an awful lot of time talking to God - he's getting an earful from me at the moment!" The last proper chance for the family to wave farewell was on Thursday when they joined the rest of the crew for a barbecue at a beach house on a remote stretch of sand at Kennedy Space Center.

 

It won't be Mandy'a last word. Shortly before the scheduled take-off, she tucked a letter into the few personal effects Piers will take into space. And only when he's thousands of miles above Earth will he find his personal message of love and support from the wife who helped him get up there.

 

Source: http://mirror.co.uk

ive been 2 kennedy space centre!! and thats cool how they will be woken up by clocks, i couldnt thnik of a better way! lol. :rolleyes:

Holy CRAP. That's ALOT of weight on a song. That's fantastic. I'm sure the guys would be gob-smacked if they knew. :)

YES YES YES YES

 

YES YES YESSSSSSSS!!!

 

:mellow:

 

Fantastic.

did it go?

no, they cancelled the launch :(

good choice.

it will also be my song for funeral

awwwww I love that song :blush:

Lol, I just read this article properly and realised that the guy is from near where I live!!! "Crowborough, East Sussex"....:cool:

Its really lovely that they all love clocks so much :nice:

That's pretty damn cool!

Too bad it didnt go up....the next launch is scheduled for Tuesday!!...I live like 45 minutes from it! :D

AWESOME. Coldplay tunes in space. :D

 

For anyone interested, you can watch streaming NASA TV, for up to date news about the mission, here...you'll also be able to watch the launch on Tuesday from that link. :cool: :cool: :cool: