He will step outside the International Space Station (ISS) at about 12.55pm (GMT) and spend six hours repairing a broken “shunt system”, which is one of eight units which provide power to the ISS.
Advertisement
Please wait a moment for the liveblog to load.
Famous faces have already sent messages of support for the astronaut.
Ahead of Major Peake’s first spacewalk today, William’s dad Ashley Hall, dropped off the giant rocket so the youngster could show his friends.
Celebrity well-wishers included Sir Paul McCartney, who added: “We’re all watching, no pressure!” “This is how I measure success: 1)crew-safe 2)main objective-completed”.
British-born U.S. astronaut Nicholas Patrick, a spacewalk veteran, said Major Peake should find time to enjoy the “majesty of the view” during his walk.
“Popping outside for a walk”, Peake said in a tweet Thursday, January 14.
Writing on his blog, Peake said he had done months of training while on Earth for the mission, including virtual reality sessions to train “for the worst-case scenario of becoming detached from the space station”.
Peake, the United Kingdom’s first astronaut, is performing a first spacewalk of his career.
He carried the unit, which would weigh 200 pounds (90 kilograms) on Earth, to the far end of the space station’s truss, about 200 feet (60 meters) from the exit.
It’s no doubt the spacewalk will be tiring for the pair as they fight against the pressurised suits.
The 43-year-old from Chichester was assisted in a spacewalk on December 21 but stayed inside the ISS and this will be his first time outside.
Dr Patrick said: “When you float out, it is a remarkable feeling”.
“When you train for something, you have an idea of how it’s going to be, and when you get there on the day often it’s different”.
He said: “Most of the astronauts who go out there say that’s the main things to adjust to – actually figuring out how to move – because the kinetics of movement are a bit different”.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “Take a look around, look down and enjoy it, would be my advice to Tim. It’s the astronaut’s equivalent of stopping to smell the roses”.
“Looking great out there on the top of the world”, astronaut Reid Wiseman radioed to the spacewalkers from Mission Control in Houston.
Advertisement
His mission has attracted widespread attention in Britain, with his spacewalk beamed live on news channels.
