PARIS, April 12. /TASS/. Space flights forever change humans’ view of the world, French astronaut Patrick Baudry said in an interview with TASS on Cosmonautics Day.

"Cosmonautics Day holds a lot of memories for me, particularly of Star City," Baudry said, recalling the training course he underwent in the Soviet Union in 1982 as a member of the backup crew for a mission to the Salyut 7 space station. Baudry said that the project had enriched him as a person and allowed him to make friends with people from other countries, including Bulgaria, Romania and Vietnam.

Baudry, 77, confessed that he envied those launching to orbit, be it space professionals or tourists.

When speaking about the space projects he would like to participate in if he had the opportunity, Baudry noted that he would like to work with the Chinese who "do wonderful things." The French astronaut also praised Elon Musk’s projects, saying that he considered Musk to be the main driver of progress in US space research.

"Space is about moving on, learning new things, making discoveries, working and taking risks," Baudry pointed out. "By space exploration I primarily mean manned flights. This is crucial from the scientific point of view and it is a real challenge," he added.

The French astronaut made his only space flight on the US Shuttle Discovery as part of a mission to deploy communication satellites in 1985. Later, he became one of the founders of the Association of European Astronauts and was active in promoting space exploration.