Timothy Peake

European Space Agency astronaut

Personal data

Born in Chichester, the United Kingdom, on 7 April 1972. Married with two sons. Tim enjoys skiing, scuba diving, cross-country running and reading among his leisure activities.

Education

Tim completed his secondary education at Chichester High School for Boys in 1990. In 1992, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer in the British Army Air Corps. In 2005, he graduated from the Empire Test Pilots School in Boscombe Down, where he was awarded the Westland Trophy. He received a Bachelor of Science in flight dynamics and evaluation from the University of Portsmouth in 2006.

Special Honours

Tim was awarded a Certificate for Meritorious Service for exemplary and dedicated service to the British Army in 2006.

Organisations

Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Experience

Upon becoming an Army Air Corps officer in 1992, Tim served on attachment with the Royal Green Jackets as a Platoon Commander in Northern Ireland, before beginning flight training. He was awarded his Army Flying Wings in 1994.

Between 1994 and 1998 he served as a reconnaissance pilot and flight commander in Germany, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Kenya and Canada. He also qualified as a Combat Survival and Rescue Instructor and a Flight Safety Officer.

Tim qualified as a helicopter flying instructor in 1998 prior to being selected for an exchange posting with the US Army, flying Apache helicopters at Fort Hood, Texas (1999–2002). On his return to the UK, he was employed as an Apache helicopter instructor from 2002 to 2005, during which time he was instrumental in introducing the Apache into service with the British Army.

On completion of test pilot training, Tim served with Rotary Wing Test Squadron, Boscombe Down, between 2006 and 2009. He was the senior Apache test pilot in addition to being test pilot for Special Forces aircraft projects. He was also the Squadron Training Officer and qualified as a Post Crash Management Incident Officer.

On retirement from the British Army in 2009, Tim was employed as a helicopter test pilot for AgustaWestland, flying Apache, Lynx, EH101 and A109 aircraft. He has logged over 3000 hours flying time on more than 30 types of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, including the Hawk, Dakota, Harvard and Mi-17.

Tim was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. He joined ESA in September 2009 and completed Astronaut Basic Training in November 2010.  Tim received Eurocom certification in September 2011, which allows him to be responsible for the communication between the astronauts in orbit and  Europe’s Mission Control Centre.

On 11 June 2012, Tim spent 12 days in an underwater habitat 20 m below the sea for NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO. NEEMO allows space agencies to test technologies and conduct research for future missions. Tim’s NEEMO 16 mission focused on developing the tools, techniques and procedures required for a crewed mission to an asteroid.

In 2012 Tim completed training and certification for spacewalks using both the Russian Orlan spacesuit and the American Extravehicular Mobility Unit suit.

Tim was appointed as an ambassador for UK Science and space-based careers in 2009 and is involved in working with the UK Space Agency in developing the UK’s microgravity research programme. He is currently based at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Among other duties, Tim has been appointed as Lead Eurocom for Luca Parmitano’s Volare mission starting in May 2013.

Current assignment

Tim will fly to the International Space Station on a long-duration mission starting in 2015. He is currently in training for this mission.