UK astronaut Major Tim Peake

The Guardian newspaper reports that Major Tim Peake has been selected to fly a five-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015.

Tim Peake, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, was chosen for astronaut training in 2009 from 8,400 applicants. Since then he has been undergoing training in a number of locations around the world including Köln in Germany, Star City in Russia and Houston in Texas. He had previously served in the army for 18 years primarily flying Apache helicopters and has seen active service in Afghanistan.

The Guardian newspaper says: 41-year-old Peake has been assigned a lengthy stay in orbit in 2015. He will be blasted into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in November that year and flown to the space station where he will stay for five months. He will be able to take part in spacewalks and other complex scientific activities.

Helen Sharman GB1MIR

Sarah Brightman

On May 18, 1991 the first UK astronaut Helen Sharman GB1MIR flew to the Mir Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and during her 8 day mission contacted a number of radio amateurs around the world. There have been no other UK astronauts since that epic voyage over 22 years ago.

It had been expected that Sarah Brightman would be the second UK astronaut but it looks as though her mission to the ISS will take place after Tim Peake’s.

Read the Guardian newspaper article at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/19/tim-peake-mission-space-station

Helen Sharman GB1MIR https://amsat-uk.org/about/history/first-uk-astronaut-helen-sharman-gb1mir/

Sarah Brightman plans ISS mission https://amsat-uk.org/2012/10/10/sarah-brightman-iss/

2013 UK Space Conference Glasgow July 16-17
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/18/2013-uk-space-conference-glasgow-july-16-17/

Free CubeSat Workshop Guildford July 19
https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/cubesat-workshop-2013/

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium Guildford July 20-21
https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/