To the stars

He became a symbol of unbreakable will, exceptional abilities, and hope for success. In November 2022, Aleš Svoboda officially became an astronaut for the European Space Agency. This was preceded by a demanding selection process in which Aleš succeeded as one of seventeen out of almost twenty-three thousand applicants from all over Europe. Before that, his career had already taken him to become one of about 20 fighter pilots who take to the Czech and European skies in supersonic JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets. How difficult is it to become a fighter pilot, and how difficult is it to become an astronaut? What are encounters with Russian pilots over the Baltic like? How much money does a Gripen pilot earn for their work and what does a typical working day look like? What are the chances of a Czech space mission becoming a reality? These are just some of the questions asked in the book-length interview with Aleš Svoboda by journalists Veronika and Martin Jonáš.