MAJOR Tim Peake will become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) when he lifts off this morning in a Russian Soyuz space capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Peake, a former British Army helicopter pilot, has undergone more than three years of training in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut programme, and will live and work on the ISS for six months.
The 43-year-old, from Chichester, in West Sussex, spent last night with his wife and two sons watching a Soviet Western – White Sun of the Desert – something of a tradition for crews departing from Baikonur.
Peake will be one of three crew lifting off today – he’ll be with US Army Colonel Timothy Kopra, who has been in space once before on the space shuttle, and Yuri Malenchenko, one of the most experienced cosmonauts in the Russian Space Agency. Malenchenko was the first person to become married in space, when in 2003 he tied the knot with Ekaterina Dmitrieva while he was on the ISS and she was in Texas.
This intrepid trio will join three crew members already living on the ISS including North American Space Agency (Nasa) astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending a year on the station as part of a biomedical experiment involving his twin brother – also an astronaut.
WHAT WILL PEAKE BE DOING?
HIS working days will be much like they are on Earth. Peake – and the others – will work a normal working week, starting at around 8am and finishing at 6pm Monday to Friday, with an hour off for lunch.
The time zone in space is Universal Time – the same as GMT – so he’ll be in sync with friends and family in the UK.
Although the ISS was built to carry out experiments, most of these are run and monitored from research institutes on Earth and the astronauts’ main role in them is to change the containers for the various tests.
Most of their research work will involve studying the effects of prolonged weightlessness on themselves. However, the ISS has to be maintained – and Saturday is cleaning day, when Peake and the others will be involved in cleaning duties, so there’s no escaping housework. Peake wants education to be a legacy of his mission on the ISS and is hoping to broadcast to those interested in it on Saturday afternoons. He has frequently said he was keen to use the mission as an opportunity to educate and inspire people about science and the wonders of space travel, and he’ll use Twitter (@astro_timpeake) to do that.
There will be lots more to keep him busy – he’ll consume a meal designed by children for him to eat in orbit, and he’ll grow seeds on the ISS to compare with plants grown in schools back home.
Peake will also take part in a fitness challenge and there will be a competition for five-to-19-year-olds to produce a short film about space travel, which he’ll be able to watch.
CAN ANYBODY BECOME AN ASTRONAUT?
ANYBODY with the right qualifications, which depend on the part you want to play in the sizeable team behind the missions.
The term astronaut is from the Greek words for “space sailor” and there are different qualifications needed for each team member – commanders, pilots, mission and payload specialists.
For all roles the basic requirements include a (preferably advanced) degree in an engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics discipline.
Commanders and pilots must have at least 1,000 hours as a pilot in command of a jet aircraft (flight test experience desirable); and the ability to pass a space medical examination, similar to those required for flying with either military or civilian employers.
Mission specialist astronauts work with the commander and pilot, and have overall responsibility for co-ordinating operations in the areas of crew activity planning, consumables usage, and experiment and payload operations.
They need a detailed knowledge of the operational characteristics, mission requirements and objectives, as well as supporting systems and equipment for each payload element on their assigned missions
Payload specialists carry out specialised onboard duties and when required, they are nominated by the Nasa, the foreign sponsor, or the payload sponsor.
WHAT DOES MAJOR TIM SEE AS HIS PEAK?
THE thing he said he was most looking forward to was the view of Earth from orbit: “I don’t think anything can really prepare you for that moment. I’ll be able to look out the right window and see that wonderful view of Earth.
“The best piece of advice I’ve been given by many astronauts and cosmonauts who’ve flown before is to make sure you get time to look out the window, not for taking a photograph but to enjoy it for your own benefit.
“Hopefully in a six-month mission – 173 days on orbit – I get plenty of opportunities to do just that.”
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