Thomson ReutersExpedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of Britain performs a spacewalk outside the International Space StationLONDON (Reuters) – 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.
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He posted three different photos along with the message: “Today’s exhilarating spacewalk will be etched in my memory forever – quite an incredible feeling!”
Tim Peake takes some big steps for British astronauts.
The spacewalk – referred to as an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) – will be the first for Peake and the third for his Nasa colleague, Colonel Tim Kopra, 52. An hour and 32 minutes into the spacewalk, Armitano and his partner astronaut Chris Cassidy had to reenter the space station.
Miss Mouse, the knitted toy character from the CBeebies Show Me Show Me programme, has been educating young viewers on astronaut training during the week, and in Friday’s episode will join Peake in her “most exciting adventure to date”.
After sampling the liquid Kopra found it was cold, suggesting a leak in his space suit’s cooling system, something that in the past has led to a life-threatening situation when an astronaut’s view was obscured by the water. Mission Control informed the astronauts everything looked good.
Despite the considerably smaller leak, the cap that Kopra wore on his head, under his helmet, was moist, as were other parts of his suit.
Peake, in particular, received a bounty of well wishes – from space as well as Earth.
Commander Kelly said “The Union Jack has explored all over the world, now it’s exploring space”.
“It’s great to be wearing it”, answered Peake. He has been at the ISS for six months. “The astronauts replaced a failed voltage regulator that caused a loss of power to one of the station’s eight power channels last November, accomplishing the major objective for this spacewalk”.
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ESA astronaut Tim Peake became the first Brit to walk in space on Friday, Jan. 15, and in true 21st century fashion chose to commemorate the event with a series of selfies. He stepped outside the International Space Staion’s Quest airlock just after 13:00 GMT.
