she
irritated him at times, she was loyal to OOSA, and to him, and cared about them
both. He shrugged. ‘Nothing to say right now,’ he muttered. ‘Hans is still
investigating,’ and with that he spun round and strode down the corridor.
***
In Corrinne’s absence, one of the secretaries ushered a man and a woman, who
both looked to be in their late twenties, into Carlos’s office.
‘Dr Maiz?’ The woman had
an English accent. ‘I’m Rebecca Marshall from National Geographic . We’re
running a feature on OOSA in our June issue that will link with our main piece
on the Space Elevator project.’
Carlos stood up and
leaned across the desk to shake hands. ‘Hello,’ he said.
Rebecca smiled. It was a
pretty smile, he thought.
She turned to the man.
‘This is our photographer, Brian Clark. He’ll take photos while we talk. Don’t
let him distract you – in fact just ignore him.’
‘Yeah, just ignore me.
Everyone else does,’ Brian said as he offered his hand to Carlos, who scarcely
managed a grunt in reply.
Aware he should make an
effort to be more welcoming, Carlos extended his arm towards a leather sofa and
two chairs surrounding a low table in front of the windowed wall of his office.
‘Please, over there. It’s more comfortable.’
‘Do you mind if I record
our conversation?’ Rebecca asked as she sat down. Carlos dipped his head in
acknowledgement. At least she wasn’t wasting any time on small talk.
‘To start, I’d like to
ask some questions about yourself.’
‘Me?’ he said,
surprised.
She gave a little laugh
and threw him a sideways look from under her lashes. ‘With technical subject
matter it’s good to include a human element. It balances the scientific side
and makes a story more personal, more interesting for the readers.’
Carlos had never been
called a human element before although, he conceded to himself, that was pretty
much what he’d become of late.
He shrugged. ‘Okay.’
‘Date is Tuesday, the
13th of March 2012,’ she said, ‘and the interview is with Dr Carlos Maiz,
Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs – OOSA
– based at UNO City in Vienna, Austria. Good afternoon, Dr Maiz.’
‘Good afternoon. And
please call me Carlos.’
She smiled. ‘Very well,
Carlos,’ and she tipped her head to one side on using his Christian name for
the first time. ‘I know you’re busy, so I’ll try and be quick. Now I understand
you were born and grew up in Spain and studied physics at La Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid?’
‘Correct.’
‘Were you already
interested in outer space – the universe – back then?’
‘ Sí . It’s always
been my passion. When I was a child I already knew I wanted to do something in
cosmology.’
‘And after university in
Madrid?’
‘I won a scholarship to
the University of Southern California. I did a graduate programme there in
Aerospace Engineering and got my Masters degree.’
‘What year did you move
to the States?’
‘1984.’
‘And after you
graduated?’
‘I joined NASA. In 1986.
Goddard Space Flight Centre.’
‘Near Washington DC,
right?’
‘Yes. Maryland. I worked
at the Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics – LASP – it’s a
Division of the Space Sciences Directorate. Then I got my doctorate in
Aerospace Engineering from USC in 1989.’
‘How long were you at
NASA?’
‘Just over twenty years.
I left in ’07 to take on the Directorship of OOSA.’
‘Why did you leave?’
The question took him by
surprise. Why had he quit NASA and given up the job he loved? It was
inspiring working with world experts in engineering and aeronautics, mixing
daily with brilliant although often difficult individuals. He’d excelled there
and received promotions and countless awards. But he’d never intended staying
forever and after celebrating his twenty-year anniversary, knowing it would
only get more difficult to haul himself out of the NASA rut, the unexpected
offer from
irritated him at times, she was loyal to OOSA, and to him, and cared about them
both. He shrugged. ‘Nothing to say right now,’ he muttered. ‘Hans is still
investigating,’ and with that he spun round and strode down the corridor.
***
In Corrinne’s absence, one of the secretaries ushered a man and a woman, who
both looked to be in their late twenties, into Carlos’s office.
‘Dr Maiz?’ The woman had
an English accent. ‘I’m Rebecca Marshall from National Geographic . We’re
running a feature on OOSA in our June issue that will link with our main piece
on the Space Elevator project.’
Carlos stood up and
leaned across the desk to shake hands. ‘Hello,’ he said.
Rebecca smiled. It was a
pretty smile, he thought.
She turned to the man.
‘This is our photographer, Brian Clark. He’ll take photos while we talk. Don’t
let him distract you – in fact just ignore him.’
‘Yeah, just ignore me.
Everyone else does,’ Brian said as he offered his hand to Carlos, who scarcely
managed a grunt in reply.
Aware he should make an
effort to be more welcoming, Carlos extended his arm towards a leather sofa and
two chairs surrounding a low table in front of the windowed wall of his office.
‘Please, over there. It’s more comfortable.’
‘Do you mind if I record
our conversation?’ Rebecca asked as she sat down. Carlos dipped his head in
acknowledgement. At least she wasn’t wasting any time on small talk.
‘To start, I’d like to
ask some questions about yourself.’
‘Me?’ he said,
surprised.
She gave a little laugh
and threw him a sideways look from under her lashes. ‘With technical subject
matter it’s good to include a human element. It balances the scientific side
and makes a story more personal, more interesting for the readers.’
Carlos had never been
called a human element before although, he conceded to himself, that was pretty
much what he’d become of late.
He shrugged. ‘Okay.’
‘Date is Tuesday, the
13th of March 2012,’ she said, ‘and the interview is with Dr Carlos Maiz,
Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs – OOSA
– based at UNO City in Vienna, Austria. Good afternoon, Dr Maiz.’
‘Good afternoon. And
please call me Carlos.’
She smiled. ‘Very well,
Carlos,’ and she tipped her head to one side on using his Christian name for
the first time. ‘I know you’re busy, so I’ll try and be quick. Now I understand
you were born and grew up in Spain and studied physics at La Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid?’
‘Correct.’
‘Were you already
interested in outer space – the universe – back then?’
‘ Sí . It’s always
been my passion. When I was a child I already knew I wanted to do something in
cosmology.’
‘And after university in
Madrid?’
‘I won a scholarship to
the University of Southern California. I did a graduate programme there in
Aerospace Engineering and got my Masters degree.’
‘What year did you move
to the States?’
‘1984.’
‘And after you
graduated?’
‘I joined NASA. In 1986.
Goddard Space Flight Centre.’
‘Near Washington DC,
right?’
‘Yes. Maryland. I worked
at the Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics – LASP – it’s a
Division of the Space Sciences Directorate. Then I got my doctorate in
Aerospace Engineering from USC in 1989.’
‘How long were you at
NASA?’
‘Just over twenty years.
I left in ’07 to take on the Directorship of OOSA.’
‘Why did you leave?’
The question took him by
surprise. Why had he quit NASA and given up the job he loved? It was
inspiring working with world experts in engineering and aeronautics, mixing
daily with brilliant although often difficult individuals. He’d excelled there
and received promotions and countless awards. But he’d never intended staying
forever and after celebrating his twenty-year anniversary, knowing it would
only get more difficult to haul himself out of the NASA rut, the unexpected
offer from
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