A DISTINGUISHED helicopter test pilot was named yesterday as Britain's latest astronaut.
Major Timothy Peake was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of its six new spacemen.
He was chosen for missions to the International Space Station "and one day to the Moon and beyond" after a gruelling selection process which attra
cted more than 8,400 people, said the ESA.
His selection, announced at a press conference in Paris, is a surprise as the UK has so far opted out of the agency's human spaceflight programme.
Maj Peake, 37, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, spent 18 years as an officer in the army, joining the Army Air Corps, before becoming a helicopter test pilot for Augusta Westland.
Speaking at the press conference yesterday afternoon, the clearly delighted new astronaut said: "It is a unique opportunity in my life to be part of a team that can have such a positive effect on humanity."
He added: "I feel it's a great privilege to be part of the team and I'm very happy to be working alongside some very talented people."
The move comes after an army career that saw him become one of the forces' foremost helicopter pilots.
He and five other candidates were unveiled in Paris after being picked "on merit" from the thousands of applicants, said the agency.
His journey to the verge of space exploration began 17 years ago. In August 1992, he was commissioned into the Army Air Corps (AAC) and subsequently completed an eight-month attachment to the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland, where he served as a Platoon Commander.
He then attended the Army Pilots Course and gained his wings in June 1994 before being posted to Germany as a Gazelle pilot.
During his first tour, he spent five months flying in Northern Ireland before gaining aircraft commander and flight commander status.
He was deployed around the world, to Kenya and later on operations to Bosnia. He attended exercises in Canada, Cyprus and Denmark.
In January 1998, he attended a Qualified Helicopter Instructors course at RAF Shawbury and was then selected for an exchange posting to the United States, where he flew the Apache helicopter as a Platoon Commander.
After returning from the US in September 2002 he was posted to Middle Wallop as one of the first British qualified helicopter instructors to instruct on the UK Apache.
He was subsequently commended for his role in introducing the UK Apache into service.
Major Peake was picked alongside Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, German Alexander Gerst, Dane Andreas Mogensen, Italian Luca Parmitano and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet.
Major Peake recently retired from the Army Air Corps and began working for Augusta Westland as a senior test pilot, primarily flight testing Apache and Lynx helicopters.
He has a degree in Flight Dynamics and Evaluation and has flown more than 30 helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft types, accumulating more than 3,000 hours of flight time.
He has been married to wife Rebecca for nine years and has a four-month-old son, Thomas. Welcoming the news, science minister Lord Drayson said: "I'm thrilled about Major Tim Peake's success in this toughest of all job applications. Becoming an astronaut is the pinnacle of achievement for anyone involved in space science and technology.
"Major Peake's appointment will be an inspiration and he will be a fantastic ambassador for the UK space industry and science in general. I have always known Britain has the right stuff," he said. "This proves it."
