Biographies of International Astronauts

Peake

Timothy Nigel

United Kingdom

Timothy Peake

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Personal data

Birthdate:  07.04.1972
Birthplace:  Chichester
Marital status:  married
Children:  two
Selection date:  20.05.2009
Selection group:  ESA-3 / EAC
Position:  MSP
Status:  Ret. 31.12.2022

Spaceflights

No. Mission Position Time Duration
1  Soyuz TMA-19M / ISS-46 / ISS-47  Flight Engineer  15.12.2015 - 18.06.2016 185d 22h 11m 
2        
3        
4        
5        
6        
7        
Total  185d 22h 11m 
Patch Soyuz TMA-19M Patch ISS-46 Patch ISS-47        

Backup assignments

No. Mission Position
1  Soyuz TMA-17M  Flight Engineer

Additional information

Timothy Peake completed his secondary education at Chichester High School for Boys in West Sussex, England, in 1990. In 1992, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer in the British Army Air Corps. Having been selected for the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Boscombe Down, he graduated in 2005 and was awarded the Westland Trophy for the best rotary wing pilot student. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in flight dynamics and evaluation from the University of Portsmouth in 2006.
At school, Timothy Peake was a member of the Combined Cadet Force for six years, finishing as Cadet Warrant Officer. Before joining the Army he was part of a six-month Operation Raleigh expedition to Alaska to work on environmental projects. Upon becoming an Army Air Corps officer in 1992, Timothy Peake 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. Timothy Peake qualified as a helicopter flying instructor in 1998 before being selected for an exchange posting with the US Army (1999–2002). On his return to the UK, he became an Apache helicopter instructor from 2002 to 2005, before being selected for test-pilot training. On completion of test-pilot training, Timothy Peake served with Rotary Wing Test Squadron, Boscombe Down, between 2006 and 2009. He was involved in numerous test flights on several different types of military helicopter. He was also the Squadron Training Officer and qualified as a Post Crash Management Incident Officer. On retirement from the British Army as a major in 2009, Timothy Peake was employed as a senior helicopter test pilot for AgustaWestland. During his career, 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. He maintains his flying as a major in the Territorial Army, and also holds a private pilot’s licence.
Timothy Peake was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. He joined ESA in September 2009 and completed Astronaut Basic Training in November 2010. He received Eurocom certification in September 2011, which allows him to be responsible for communication between astronauts in orbit and Europe’s Mission Control Centre. In June 2012, Timothy Peake spent 12 days in the Aquarius habitat 20 m below the sea off the coast of Florida for NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO. NEEMO allows space agencies to test technologies and conduct research for future missions. Timothy Peake’s NEEMO 16 mission focused on developing the tools, techniques and procedures required for a crewed mission to an asteroid.
Among his leisure activities he enjoys skiing, scuba diving, cross-country running, climbing, and mountaineering in his wife’s native Scotland. He has also completed the London Marathon. Other interests include quantum physics and aviation.

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Last update on January 20, 2023.

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