Tim Peake's Space Walk | #TimPeakeUpdate

Tim Peake during training, today, he flew the Union Jack for the
first time in the vacuum of space.

Today, at 12:55 GMT Tim Peake stepped out of the airlock and into the darkness of space, moments after his colleague Tim Kopra did just the same. They're main job, was to replace the SSU unit  - a major power channel of the ISS. They completed the important bit of the space walk well ahead of schedule, even with time to take a space selfie! The next part of the space walk involved laying a series of cables and carrying out a couple of replacements to enable future units to be installed on the ISS - not vital work. 

Just over four hours into the space walk, Tim Kopra reported that there was a small volume of water which had collected in his helmet. The mission director, as a matter of precaution, terminated the space walk. They made their way back to the airlock after collecting their tools. Both crew members remained absolutely fine - the termination was purely a matter of precaution. Ground control also - rightly so, believed that it was right to bring in both crew members in daylight, rather than potentially leaving Tim Kopra's helmet to fill with more and more water in the dark. Once the crew members returned, Scott Kelly, accompanied by Russian Cosmonauts measured the water in Tim's helmet to  be 15ml- perhaps from their cooling system. This might seem like a comparatively small amount - but in the uncertainty of space, this proved to be the best decision. Overall - it appears that the space walk was a triumph for Britain but for NASA, this is the third time astronauts have reported water in their helmet. 

Of course this space walk was an extremely proud moment - yet I'm sure nerve wracking at times for his parents, wife and children. His parents said "For us, we have immense pride, but also immense gratitude to all the people who are supporting Tim and the other astronauts."  Tim Peake also took pictures of his family on his wrist - his wife thanked him for flying their boys in space. 

Tim's space walk may have ended early, but he made history by becoming the first official British citizen to carry out a space walk. Once the problem of Tim Kopra's helmet became evident - ground control handed over the role of EVA1 (space walk leader) to Tim Peake to ensure their safe return, particularly in case the water increased in volume. The odds are now 2/1 on Tim Peake being Knighted before 2020 - what do you reckon? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Tim Peake is scheduled to return 5th June 2016

Summer of Science Day 4 - One Giant Leap for Selfies?

21st July 1969 - The Summer of '69!

Today the attention lies predominantly on the 45th anniversary of the moon landing; where 99% * of the world's TV screens were tuned into NASA TV. Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface at 0256 GMT with the eyes of the world focused on him. Only 14 minutes later Buzz Aldrin stepped out onto the lunar surface, jumping across the moon's surface collecting rock samples taking advantage of the stunning view from here on Earth. 

On the other hand, Buxzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong aren't just famous for their landing on the moon. Buzz Aldrin has laid claim to the first "space selfie" in 1966 - is this where the trend comes from?

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*According to NASA

The First Man in Space

Yuri Gagarin

Happy New Year!


On 12th April 1961 history was made when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (9th March 1934-27th March 1968)  became the first man in space with a 108 minute flight orbiting the earth once.


In 1960 he was shortlisted for the Vostok 1 space programme in an attempt to build on the success of the Sputnik 1 programme just three years earlier. Rivalling German Titov, Gagarin managed to impress the space programme director more so and was selected for the space programme in 1961.

Shortly following his resounding success with the mission he became an instant worldwide celebrity, he visited several countries including Britain in 1961. Unfortunatley he diedin a military training flight on the 27th March 1968 aged just 34.

Although he was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honour. Vostok 1 was his only space flight but he did serve as backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission.

Less than a month later an American astronaut, Alan Shepard became the first American in space.

First news headlines following the mission

 The U.S and Soviet Union since this have carried out cooperative missions, the first of which happened in 1975. The mission was called "The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project" and it was designed to test the capability of docking systems for future American and Soviet spacecraft, something which later opened doors into future joint manned flights.