Carol Vorderman's Daughter Katie King Wants To Be An Astronaut

Carol Vorderman's Daughter Katie King Wants To Be An Astronaut
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Carol Vorderman's daughter Katie King is hoping to become the second British female astronaut.

The former Countdown queen said her daughter is learning to fly and wants to follow in the footsteps of the first Briton in space, Helen Sharman.

Helen was only the second woman in the world to visit the Mir space station in 1991, when she was 27.

Katie King, 22, has studied physics at Cambridge University while training to be an RAF pilot.

Mum Carol, 53, said she took Katie to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the final Atlantis mission.

She said: "I went to see the Space Shuttle launch for my daughter's 18th birthday because she wants to be an astronaut. She's learning to fly."

Carol said she'd love Helen to mentor her daughter as she pursues her astronaut dream.

She said: "I've met Helen a couple of times. She'd be the perfect mentor. She's very down-to-earth – no pun intended."

It's not only Helen that Katie has to look up to, but also her own mother. One-time Loose Women anchor Carol earned her own pilot licence in the summer of 2012 and plans go on a solo round-the-world flight, inspired by pioneering flyer Amelia Earhart.

Her love of aviation extends into her romantic life, too - she has been dating Red Arrows airman Graham Duff for two years.

Carol added: "It's amazing – the ISS is the most international place off Earth. It's quite ethereal what Space does to nations."

Any jokes about blasting Carol off into space instead will not be welcome!

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