Born in Chichester, England, on 7 April 1972, Tim Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station. He launched on a Soyuz rocket on 15 December 2015 and landed back on Earth on Earth 18 June 2016 after 186 days in space.

Upon becoming an Army Air Corps officer in 1992, 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. He flew on military operations in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. As a test pilot, he was involved in numerous test flights on many different types of military helicopter.

On retirement from the British Army as a major in 2009, 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 Apache, Hawk, Dakota and Mi-17. He holds a private pilot’s licence and maintains his flying.

Peake was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. Along with his five ESA classmates, he graduated from astronaut basic training in November 2010. Peake spent three years conducting further training and working as a communicator with the International Space Station prior to his assignment to a long-duration mission in 2013.

Peake launched to the International Space Station on 15 December 2015 for an eventful 186 days in space. In the first month, he conducted a spacewalk to repair the Station's power supply. Other highlights saw him drive a rover across a simulated Mars terrain from space, taking part in over 250 scientific experiments for ESA and international partners and helping to dock two spacecraft to the Station.

Peake is married with two sons. Among his leisure activities he enjoys skiing, scuba diving, cross-country running and climbing. Other interests include quantum physics and aviation.

Peake is currently taking an unpaid leave of absence from ESA for three years from 1 October 2019. Astronauts often use the period between space missions for personal and career development. Over these three years, Peake will continue to support the Agency but return to the UK where he will work more closely with the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) on their education and outreach programme.

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