Peake performer is ready for space
NEWS FOCUS
Mid-market is the prize WORLD AIRLINER DIRECTORY P30 SPACEFLIGHT DAN THISDELL LONDON
Peake performer is ready for space As the UK’s first astronaut in 24 years prepares for launch, British Army Major has scientific advancement as inspiration
W
Bill Stafford/NASA
hen Tim Peake blasts off for the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 December, the first British astronaut since Helen Sharman in 1991 will be flying more flags than the Union Jack. Aviators of all nations will see, roaring into orbit, affirmation of their own version of the “Right Stuff”. The British Army Major, like so many astronauts, is – perhaps first and foremost – a flyer; helicopters in his case, since 1994 and including stints as an instructor and test pilot. Yuri Gagarin and the USA’s original Mercury contingent were elite military flyers. Neil Armstrong was among the first to fight in jets, in Korea, before tackling the Bell X-15. This month, NASA put out a call for applications from aspiring astronauts, specifying “candidates must have at least three years of related, pro-
gressively responsible professional experience, or at least 1,000h of pilot-in-command time in jets”. Is the emphasis on pilots really necessary? Rockets and aircraft are very different beasts, and the space station does not have a cockpit. True, says Peake, who describes his route to the astronaut corps as “traditional” and emphasises that among his colleagues are scientists and engineers with very different career paths. Speaking at London’s Science Museum on 6 November, before heading to Kazakhstan and final preparations for his six-month “Principia” mission, Peake said pilot skills underpin much of an flightglobal.com
astronaut’s work. Pilots, he says, are long on valuable skills in operational environments, crew working, co-ordinating multiple tasks and communications. Also, work in space calls on the skills that come naturally to pilots when it involves operating complex equipment, such as the ISS’s robotic arm, or the often-experimental equipment evaluated in space. In any case, Peake notes, the next generation of US spacecraft – the Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Dragon capsules being developed for flight from 2017 as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew programme – will need pilots. Peake will journey from Baikonur on ISS Soyuz launch
Newton’s “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica”; the mission logo features a falling apple and rising rocket. The mission is, as universities and science minister Jo Johnson told the Science Museum audience, the UK’s “moonshot moment” for driving youngsters to pursue STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
46S accompanied by NASA colleague Tim Kopra and Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.
RIGHT STUFF Fit, charming, outgoing and graciously fielding questions from an eager UK press corps, Peake looks every inch the astronaut. But however deeply he may be infused with the “Right Stuff”, he is very clear about one thing. The ISS is, above all, a laboratory uniquely placed to carry out medical, physical and chemical science experiments that can only be conducted in the unique environment that is microgravity. Peake’s mission has been named “Principia”, as in Isaac
European Space Agency
European Space Agency
Originally a helicopter pilot, Tim Peake will spend six months in orbit during ESA’s Principia mission
Training has included instruction at Moscow’s Star City facilities
SCIENCE AMBASSADOR The UK government is spending £1.5 million ($2.3 million) to push that message to every school, with the help of 1,000 “science ambassadors” and projects tied to Principia. Peake used the opportunity to announce he has become an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust; the charity started by Prince Charles to bring opportunity to disadvantaged young people. Peake admits that he is where he is because of many advantages – much skill, hard work and a huge dollop of good luck along the way. As a legacy of his opportunity, he wants to help every young person in Britain enjoy the same. Flying, then, is a useful if not indispensable skill. But today’s astronaut, it seems, is first and foremost a scientist and a communicator. ■
24-30 November 2015 | Flight International | 29
Mid-market is the prize WORLD AIRLINER DIRECTORY P30 SPACEFLIGHT DAN THISDELL LONDON
Peake performer is ready for space As the UK’s first astronaut in 24 years prepares for launch, British Army Major has scientific advancement as inspiration
W
Bill Stafford/NASA
hen Tim Peake blasts off for the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 December, the first British astronaut since Helen Sharman in 1991 will be flying more flags than the Union Jack. Aviators of all nations will see, roaring into orbit, affirmation of their own version of the “Right Stuff”. The British Army Major, like so many astronauts, is – perhaps first and foremost – a flyer; helicopters in his case, since 1994 and including stints as an instructor and test pilot. Yuri Gagarin and the USA’s original Mercury contingent were elite military flyers. Neil Armstrong was among the first to fight in jets, in Korea, before tackling the Bell X-15. This month, NASA put out a call for applications from aspiring astronauts, specifying “candidates must have at least three years of related, pro-
gressively responsible professional experience, or at least 1,000h of pilot-in-command time in jets”. Is the emphasis on pilots really necessary? Rockets and aircraft are very different beasts, and the space station does not have a cockpit. True, says Peake, who describes his route to the astronaut corps as “traditional” and emphasises that among his colleagues are scientists and engineers with very different career paths. Speaking at London’s Science Museum on 6 November, before heading to Kazakhstan and final preparations for his six-month “Principia” mission, Peake said pilot skills underpin much of an flightglobal.com
astronaut’s work. Pilots, he says, are long on valuable skills in operational environments, crew working, co-ordinating multiple tasks and communications. Also, work in space calls on the skills that come naturally to pilots when it involves operating complex equipment, such as the ISS’s robotic arm, or the often-experimental equipment evaluated in space. In any case, Peake notes, the next generation of US spacecraft – the Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Dragon capsules being developed for flight from 2017 as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew programme – will need pilots. Peake will journey from Baikonur on ISS Soyuz launch
Newton’s “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica”; the mission logo features a falling apple and rising rocket. The mission is, as universities and science minister Jo Johnson told the Science Museum audience, the UK’s “moonshot moment” for driving youngsters to pursue STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
46S accompanied by NASA colleague Tim Kopra and Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.
RIGHT STUFF Fit, charming, outgoing and graciously fielding questions from an eager UK press corps, Peake looks every inch the astronaut. But however deeply he may be infused with the “Right Stuff”, he is very clear about one thing. The ISS is, above all, a laboratory uniquely placed to carry out medical, physical and chemical science experiments that can only be conducted in the unique environment that is microgravity. Peake’s mission has been named “Principia”, as in Isaac
European Space Agency
European Space Agency
Originally a helicopter pilot, Tim Peake will spend six months in orbit during ESA’s Principia mission
Training has included instruction at Moscow’s Star City facilities
SCIENCE AMBASSADOR The UK government is spending £1.5 million ($2.3 million) to push that message to every school, with the help of 1,000 “science ambassadors” and projects tied to Principia. Peake used the opportunity to announce he has become an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust; the charity started by Prince Charles to bring opportunity to disadvantaged young people. Peake admits that he is where he is because of many advantages – much skill, hard work and a huge dollop of good luck along the way. As a legacy of his opportunity, he wants to help every young person in Britain enjoy the same. Flying, then, is a useful if not indispensable skill. But today’s astronaut, it seems, is first and foremost a scientist and a communicator. ■
24-30 November 2015 | Flight International | 29
