The United Kingdom’s Timothy Peake is currently training for his long-duration mission to the International Space Station, to be launched in November.
He will be the first British ESA astronaut to visit the Space Station. Credit: UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
UK’s space industry along with various commercial initiatives. Opportunities for aspiring UK astronauts to launch
and work in space alongside the astronauts from other
countries and agencies were few and far between.
European Space Agency
However, thanks to the European Space Agency announcement that a new class of astronauts was to be
selected, and UK citizens could apply, Tim Peake applied to ESA in 2008. Along with many other potential
astronaut candidates, he went on to partake in a long
and often gruelling selection process that would culminate in a phone call coming through on May 18 2009.
On a balmy spring evening, the news he had hoped
for was relayed to him – Tim had been successful in his
tests and interviews and he was therefore being invited
to join the European Space Agency Astronaut Corps,
making him the first Briton in the history of ESA to do so.
On 20th May 2013, four years after Tim began his astronaut training, David Willetts (UK Minister for Universities
and Science) announced at an eagerly anticipated
press conference that Tim had been assigned a 6 month
mission to the ISS, joining crew members on Expedition
46/47 with an expected launch date of Nov 2015.
“This is a landmark moment for Britain and our reputation as a leading science nation,” said Willets. “Not
only will we have the first UK astronaut for over two decades, but Tim Peake will be the first ever Briton to carry
out ground-breaking research on the space station.”
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“I’m absolutely delighted by the decision,”exclaimed
Peake. “It really is a tremendous privilege to be assigned to a long duration mission to the ISS.”
Training underground…
As part of his extensive astronaut training programme, Tim joined a team who would, for five days,
test human endurance and capabilities. In 2011, he
and five other astronauts joined an international mission, living in and exploring cave systems in Sardinia.
Tim Peake spent five days exploring caves in Sardinia as part of his training.
Credit: ESA
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