YOUNG Alexander Alexandrov was holding his breath on that day 40 years ago when the radio announced Yuri Gagarin had become the first man in space. He vowed to follow in the capsule trail of his idol.

Today, the 50-year-old - who ended up being the second Bulgarian in space in 1988 - harbours a yearning for more cosmic travel.

"On the threshold of the new millennium, I am considering flying again," he told The Echo. "Just as Neil Armstrong said, this is `one giant leap for mankind,' getting a man on Mars would be another giant leap. I myself would love to perform that leap, to set foot on Mars."

In June 1988 Alexander Alexandrov was a member of the 13th international space crew, which spent almost 10 days in space.

The Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM5 took four men to the Mir space station: flight captain Anatoli Salaviov, board engineer Viktor Salaviv, Mir captain Vladimir Titov, and Alexandrov as research engineer.

The team conducted 46 experiments in the fields of space technologies, medicine and biology, astrophysics, and exploration of the Earth from Space.

Alexandrov recalled: "In Space, you analyse yourself, memories of home, family, and motherland revive. You realise what a mere speck of dust in the universe you are.

"Gravity and weightlessness are rather like sea sickness - you are unable to walk or function properly."

Members of the Association of Spacemen and Astronauts gather every year on April 12 to commemorate man's first journey into Space.

"This year, 40 years after Gagarin's flight, organisations and spacemen all over the world will hold discussions on the development of aviation and astronautics. We were the first to break the chains of the Cold War by uniting nations and people.

"Distrust and fear between nations was filling the atmosphere at the time of the creation of the Association in 1985 and we managed to introduce a different point of view on the world. "The tension 14 years ago was condensed because of the responsibility we had after our first unsuccessful attempt in 1979."

Specific preparation for space work was required from all crew members: medical training, knowledge of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Mir station and its modules, and survival in extreme conditions. This preparation with the Soyuz crew took place deep under water - in oceans.

The UN declared 2001 the year of Space and Aviation. The Baikonur Cosmodrome, the oldest space launch facility in the world, is the launch site of the Soyuz spacecraft - and it is where the spacemen were due to gather yesterday.

Children's ignorance of space science and development, and their unwillingness to learn about them, worries and saddens Alexander Alexandrov. He said: "When I was a kid, we idolised spacemen, and imitated them, and competed to be more like them. None of this is felt today - as a result of the misunderstood democracy in the country."

Mr Alexandrov believes space holds the solution to all political problems, and strife between nations and wars. He told The Echo: "The recipe is simple - send all politicians out into space and, on returning, they will proclaim an end to killings, wars and unhappiness."

The first Bulgarian in space was Georgi Ivanov, who was part of the 1979 Alexandrov Soyuz 33 two-man mission.