Ex-army major becomes first British astronaut to take a space walk
'The country will be watching you make history,' Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter
British astronaut Tim Peake poses in his spacesuit aboard the International Space Station on January 11, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON:
Tim Peake became the first astronaut representing Britain to carry out a space walk when he left the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, generating huge interest back in his homeland.
"Good luck to @astro_timpeake on today's space walk. The country will be watching you make history," Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter.
Long haul, night repairs for British, US spacewalkers
Peake, 43, a former army major, blasted off to the ISS as part of a six-month mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) in December, becoming the first Briton in space since Helen Sharman traveled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days in 1991 and the first to do so under a British flag.
Peake's mission has attracted widespread attention in Britain with his space walk beamed live on news channels.
'Hello, is this planet Earth?' Astronaut dials wrong number on Christmas call from space
The ESA said the space walk would last about six hours as Peake and NASA astronaut Tim Kopra replaced a failed Solar Shunt Unit, which transfers electrical power generated by solar panels.
Tim Peake became the first astronaut representing Britain to carry out a space walk when he left the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, generating huge interest back in his homeland.
"Good luck to @astro_timpeake on today's space walk. The country will be watching you make history," Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter.
Long haul, night repairs for British, US spacewalkers
Peake, 43, a former army major, blasted off to the ISS as part of a six-month mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) in December, becoming the first Briton in space since Helen Sharman traveled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days in 1991 and the first to do so under a British flag.
Peake's mission has attracted widespread attention in Britain with his space walk beamed live on news channels.
'Hello, is this planet Earth?' Astronaut dials wrong number on Christmas call from space
The ESA said the space walk would last about six hours as Peake and NASA astronaut Tim Kopra replaced a failed Solar Shunt Unit, which transfers electrical power generated by solar panels.