Spring Edition 2018

Ground control to
MAJOR TIM
Tim Peake is the charismatic astronaut who visited the
International Space Station (ISS) for six months on his historic
Principia mission. His book, Ask an Astronaut, answers all the
wonderfully funny and serious questions his avid fans have
asked him since his return to Earth
During his mission,
Tim conducted
numerous groundbreaking
science
experiments and
engaged the British
public in ingenious ways. Tim became
the first British astronaut to complete a
spacewalk and the first person to run the
London marathon in space. He spoke
to hundreds of thousands of school
children back on Earth via events such
as the Cosmic Classroom live from the
ISS, engaging over one million children
during the whole mission. He was also
involved in other memorable events, such
as presenting the BRIT Awards live from
space in a dinner jacket.
Tim is married with two sons and
enjoys skiing, scuba diving, cross-country
running, climbing and mountaineering and
he completed the London Marathon in
2006. His other interests include quantum
physics and aviation.
Here is a cosmic taster of
Ask an Astronaut…
What was your luxury item on board?
The item that I got the most pleasure from
was definitely my camera.
How long does it take to get to orbit?
The entire launch sequence took a thrilling
eight minutes and 48 seconds from launch
pad to orbit.
What surprised you the most when you
first got into space?
Just how black space appeared. It is the
blackest black you could ever possibly
imagine and it looks truly remarkable.
What is the best bit about floating?
It’s very relaxing and a wonderfully
liberating sensation, as you don’t have to
work against Earth’s gravity.
What was the worst thing about living
in space?
Ha, what a great question! By far the
grossest thing about living in space is
watching the soles of your feet disintegrate
during the first couple of months.