Timothy Peake

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Timothy Peake
ESA Astronaut
Nationality British
Born (1972-04-07) 7 April 1972
Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK
Other occupation Test Pilot
Previous occupation British Army Officer
Alma mater University of Portsmouth
Rank Major
Selection 2009 ESA Group

Major Timothy Nigel Peake (born April 7, 1972 in Chichester, West Sussex) is a former British Army Air Corps officer and a current European Space Agency astronaut.[1] He is the first British citizen to be selected as an astronaut by ESA. Peake began ESA's intensive astronaut basic training course in September 2009 and graduated on 22 November 2010.[2]

Early Education

Peake studied at the Chichester High School for Boys by Michael Gouldstone, leaving in 1990 to attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[3]

Career

Military and Aeronautical

Upon graduation from Sandhurst in 1992, Peake served as a platoon Commander with the now defunct light infantry regiment, the Royal Green Jackets.[4] Peake became a qualified helicopter pilot in 1994 and a qualified flight instructor in 1998. In 2005, he graduated from the Empire Test Pilots School and was awarded the Westland's Trophy for best rotary wing student. Peake completed a BSc(Hons) in flight dynamics and evaluation at the University of Portsmouth the following year.[5] Peake left the army in 2009 after 17 years of service and over 3000 flying hours to his credit, becoming a test pilot with AgustaWestland.[6][7]

Astronautical

Peake beat over 8,000 other applicants for one of the six places on the ESA's new astronaut training programme. The selection process included taking academic tests, fitness assessments and several interviews.[8] Peake moved to Cologne with his family for the ESA training.[9]

If successful, Peake would become the first Briton to fly into space without a private contract (Helen Sharman, Sarah Brightman) or American citizenship (Michael Foale, Piers Sellers and Nicholas Patrick).[10]

On April 16, 2012, NASA announced that Peake would serve as an aquanaut aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 16 undersea exploration mission, scheduled to begin on June 11, 2012 and last twelve days.[11][12] The NEEMO 16 crew successfully "splashed down" at 11:05 am on June 11.[13] On the morning of June 12, Peake and his crewmates officially became aquanauts, having spent over 24 hours underwater.[14] The crew safely returned to the surface on June 22.[15]

Peake will be going to the International Space Station (ISS), but not before 2015, for Expeditions 46 and 47.[16] He will launch on board Soyuz TMA-19M.

See also

  • British astronauts

Personal life

Peake is married with two sons.

References

  1. ↑ "ESA prepares for the next generation of human spaceflight and exploration by recruiting a new class of European astronauts". European Space Agency. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
  2. ↑ Jonathan Amos (22 November 2010). "Europe's new astronauts graduate". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-10-22. 
  3. ↑ Bremner, Charles; Henderson, Mark; Devlin, Hannah (May 20, 2009). "Briton Major Timothy Peake named as Europe's latest astronaut". London: Times Online. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  4. ↑ Sample, Ian (21 May 2009). "European Space Agency recruits test pilot as Britain's first official astronaut". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  5. ↑ "Astronaut biography". 5 October 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  6. ↑ "AgustaWestland Test Pilot Selected For Astronaut Training". AugustaWestland. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  7. ↑ Peter Jackson (20 May 2009). "It's ground control to Major Tim". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-05-21. 
  8. ↑ Gray, Richard (31 May 2009). "Britain's first official astronaut Tim Peake defends sending humans into space". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  9. ↑ Sample, Ian (23 March 2010). "Lift-off for new space agency which aims to rocket UK out of recession". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  10. ↑ Jonathan Amos (20 May 2009). "Europe unveils British astronaut". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
  11. ↑ NASA (April 16, 2012). "NASA - NASA Announces 16th Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crew". NASA. Retrieved April 17, 2012. 
  12. ↑ Peake, Tim (29 April 2012). "NEEMO 16 - In search of an asteroid". European Space Agency. Retrieved May 3, 2012. 
  13. ↑ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 11, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 1 - Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2012. 
  14. ↑ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 12, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 2 - Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2012. 
  15. ↑ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 22, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 12 - Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved July 11, 2012. 
  16. ↑ "UK astronaut Tim Peake to go to International Space Station". BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2013. 

External links

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