TIM Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station in 2015.
Here is everything you need to know about the man who spent six months in space.
Who is Tim Peake?
Peake was born in Chichester, West Sussex, on 7 April 1972.
From a young age, he had a passion for adventure and joined The Club Scots and the school Cadet Force.
When he turned 13, his dream of becoming a pilot became a reality when he took control of an aircraft.
By the time he was 18, he had already flown numerous solo sorties and been awarded a coveted position to join the British Army Air Corps.
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He joined the military and was soon promoted to second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in August 1992.
Two years later he became a lieutenant having served as a platoon commander.
Peake then transferred to a regular commission, becoming a caption on August 20, 1997.
During this time, he became a qualified helicopter pilot and instructor, graduating from CFS at the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire.
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In 2004, Peake got promoted to major and graduated from the Empire Test Pilots School in Wiltshire the following year where he was awarded the Westland's Trophy for best rotary wing student.
When did Tim Peake go to space?
Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station.
In 2015, he and crewmates Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko launched into space on a Soyuz rocket.
Their Principia mission was an eventful and busy six months.
Peake finished his 186-day Principia mission working on the International Space Station for Expedition 46/47 when he landed back on Earth on June 18, 2016.
He returned to Earth aboard the descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft that had taken him to the space station in December 2015.
The spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan.
Peake had completed approximately 3000 orbits of the Earth and had covered a distance of 125 million kilometres (78 million miles).
Peake claims he grew two inches while away in space, but said that he is back to his actual height now.
He tweeted: "I've started using my 'spaceflight' height when people ask…5'11" sounds positively lofty for someone of my stature!"
What does Tim Peake do now?
Since January 2023, Peake has taken on the role of ESA ambassador.
He left ESA's active astronaut corps to pursue educational outreach work in close cooperation with ESA and the UK Space Agency.
Speaking to the Daily Mail about his decision the change roles, he said: "I've always believed in moving forward and embracing new challenges even if you don't know what's round the corner – it keeps things interesting.
"My years with ESA have been a fantastic phase of my life and I look forward to remaining part of the ESA family as an ambassador."
What are Tim Peake's best books?
Peake published his first book back in 2016, and made his literary debut with the title Hello, is this Planet Earth? which would provide an insight into his time in space.
He would later follow this up with other non-fiction books, such as Ask an Astronaut in 2018, and Limitless: The Autobiography in 2020.
He also released fiction work for children with his Swarm Rising series written alongside Steve Cole.
Peak has won awards for his work and also received an honorary fellowship for contribution to space travel from the Institute of Engineering and Technology.
He holds the title of a No.1 best-selling author and an inspirational communicator of science to audiences of all ages.
Little information is known about Tim Peake's real height, but his spaceflight height is known to be 5'11.
Peake claims he grew two inches while away in space, but said that he is back to his actual height now.
He tweeted: "I've started using my 'spaceflight' height when people ask…5'11" sounds positively lofty for someone of my stature!"
Is Tim Peake married?
Peake is married to his wife Rebecca and together they share two sons.
In 2020, he posted a sweet snap on social media to celebrate their anniversary.
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He wrote: "Happy 20th Anniversary to my amazing and long suffering wife, Rebecca. It has been a crazy 20 years and I couldn’t have wished to spend them with anyone else – my soulmate and best friend. Here’s to another 20!"Thank you Michael Cockerham for the great photo and memories."
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