First Briton in Space

[Lima Juliet]

I'm going to blow a gasket if I hear, read or watch another news story of Major (Rtd) Tim Peake announcing him as the 'First Briton in Space'.

NO HE IS NOT!!!

Ms Helen Sharman OBE was the first Brit in space in 1991 (yes, 24 years ago!) travelling on the same sort of rocket as Tim to a space station - although her's was MIR. Also, Michael Foale CBE was technically the second as a dual UK/US national who flew no less than 6 Space Shuttle missions between 1992 and 2004.

So technically Tim Peake's flight tomorrow is the 8th Brit to go to space - certainly not the first as the media would have us believe. All the more remarkable is that our first astronaut was a woman and that is a fact to be celebrated and not ignored - given that it was only 63 years after we, as men, allowed women the same rights to vote as us (which is another shameful act of convenient forgetfulness that we have).

Anyway, good luck to Maj (Rtd) Peake tomorrow, and if you're reading this and you work in the media - he is not the first!!!!

LJ

http://www.normanfield.com/diary61_files/image012.jpg

[Cpt_Pugwash]

I'm glad it's not just me then. I've been yelling at the TV every time a commentator comes out with this mis-information.

[FinelyChopped]

Doesn't that make him the third Brit in space?
He's certainly the first ESA Brit in space, if we want to be precise, and the first to fly to the ISS.
Godspeed, Tim Peake.

[Lima Juliet]

Sorry, "first to ISS"...

NO HE IS NOT!!!

Michael Foale CBE was commander of the ISS and did 6 months on it from 2003 and 2004.

Why can't we just celebrate the fact that it's great for kids to see a Brit go to space (again) and leave it at that?

LJ

[Brain Potter]

The Telegraph is listing Tim Peake to be the 8th Briton in space. However, 2 of the 7 before him on their list are actually Americans who happened to be born in the UK (Greg Johnson and Richard Garriott). Michael Foale, Piers Sellers and Nicholas Patrick all flew for NASA as US citizens, although they appear to hold dual nationality. Michael Shuttleworth (dual UK/South African) paid for his own trip as space tourist. Arguably, Helen Sharman is in a similar category as she was funded by industry for a one-off project, essentially for the sole purpose of putting the first Briton in space.

Tim Peake is a 100% British astronaut flying on behalf of a space agency as a full crew member on a science mission.

Good luck Tim!

[esa-aardvark]

I worked with the second Belge in space, TinTin being the first.
That was a long time ago.
Why did the Brits take so long ?

[Ken Scott]

Wouldn't that make Capt Haddock, Thompson & Thompson the first, second & third British astronauts, so Tim Peake would be the 11th? Not certain as to the nationality of Prof Calculus either.*



* he was Swiss so Tim's 11th place is safe.

[Lima Juliet]

Brain Potter

He still is not the first Briton in space...

We can jazz it up however we like. That was Helen Sharman and no-one can take that away from her. Tim Peake is at best 'runner up' and if we include the others he wouldn't even make the podium...

...it's still a great achievement, but I think to constantly ignore Ms Sharman's achievement is poor form. Not forgetting she beat a Royal Navy physician, an Army Air Corps pilot and a University Lecturer in the final selection process. It was something she was selected for from over 13,000 applicants - probably similar to Tim Peake's selection process to get to where he is on the verge of doing. If the Army Air Corps pilot (who sadly died last year) had gone into space in 1991 I suspect we would not be making such a 'song and dance' about tomorrow's launch, which, really should be a bit of a non-event. I wonder who is pushing it so hard? The BBC seem obsessed!

LJ

[Lima Juliet]

Here we go. A history lesson:

Dr Anthony Llewellyn - born Cardiff - NASA Astronaut 1967 - never flew

Cdr Pete Longhurst RN, Lt Col Anthony Boyle, Lt Col Richard Farrimond, Sqn Ldr Nigel Wood RAF and MoD Civil Servant Chris Holmes trained to be astronauts for the Space Shuttle to launch SkyNet4. The Challenger disaster stopped the plan and Wood was pencilled in to be first Briton in space. All cancelled by 1987.

Helen Sharman (born and bred in Sheffield to British parents) beat Maj Tim Mace (and 13,000 others) into becoming the first British Astronaut. She flew on a Soyuz similar to Tim Peake's on 18 May 1991 - 24 years ago!!!

Michael Foale (born in Louth to a UK father and US mother) flew to space 6 times on Space Shuttle and Soyuz from 1992 to 2004. He stayed on Mir and ISS and was the first Brit to spacewalk. He has over 374 days in space which is well over that planned for Tim Peak and Her Majesty presented this dual national with a CBE.

Mark Shuttleworth (born South Africa but dual UK/SA national) flew on a Soyuz in 2002.

Piers Sellers (born Crowborough, Sussex) flew 3 Space Shuttle missions from 2002 to 2010. Schooled in Kent, went to University in Kent, gained a PhD at Leeds and flew in the Air Cadets and UAS. He was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty in 2012 for services to science.

Nicholas Patrick (born Saltburn by the Sea, N Yorks) his mother was Scottish and he took US citizenship at the age of 30 to join NASA. He was a pilot in the Cambridge UAS where he learned to fly. He schooled at Harrow and Cambridge. Nicholas Patrick flew the Space Shuttle twice in 2006 and 2010.

Richard Garriot (born Cambridge to US parents) flew the Soyuz in 2008 to the ISS.

So there you go - Tim Peake is following a long line of people before him...and to be technically correct the first retired HMForces Serviceman to fly in space was technically RAF. :ok:

LJ

[Al R]

If NASA awards astronaut wings for being 50 miles up, does that change the perspective at all.. any Brit before Helen Sharman?

John Llewellyn (born Cardiff) was the very first British astronaut - I think they were awarded the title 'astronaut' at an earlier stage back then. He died a couple of years ago, aged 80. John had issues with handling a jet and so left the programme before going aloft - although the reason for his departure from the programme wasn't divulged at the time (piloting the craft was never going to be his primary role anyway).

Astronaut Bio: John Anthony Llewellyn (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/llewellyn-ja.html)

[racedo]

Mate had a canary when I started talking about IS Station in space............

[Tankertrashnav]

When I was Exeter Uni we used to got a pub in Lympstone once a week to quiz night. One night the landlord announced that if we went outside we should be able to see Mir passing over. We all trooped outside and at the appointed hour sure enough it was clearly visible. We all raised a glass to Helen Sharman and went back inside to win the pub quiz (as usual).

Good luck Major Tom :ok:

(Sorry, Major Tim :O)

[ShyTorque]

I wish him and the rest of his crew a safe journey and sincerely hope everything goes to plan.

Unlike some......47jT8ks8oWk

[CoffmanStarter]

Many thanks Leon for putting the record straight for us ... :ok:

Perhaps we should also mention Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) who is an English actress. She is to appear in the lead role of 'Rey' in the new film Star Wars: 'The Force Awakens'.

... May the Force Be With You Leon ;)

[Lima Juliet]

Coff

Thank you manys, that for... (In my worst Yoda voice)...

LJ :ok:

[DirtyProp]

Sorry, I mis-read the title.
I thought it was about "First Brit LOST in space", and good 'ole Gordon Brown came to mind. :E

Yes, I know where the exit is.
Hat, coat...

[Wensleydale]

Who could forget our first astronaut, picked for her coordination and control.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICnszA8N0BQ

[spekesoftly]

Leon,

You'll be pleased that Brian Cox got it right when he signed off from this morning's live BBC TV coverage of the launch, mentioning the BBC 2 programme at 7pm.

"We'll be joined tonight by the first Briton in space, Helen Sharman"

[A_Van]

Yes, Helen Sharman was the first British cosmonaut/astronaut (flew in late 80's). I was working at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre at that time and we all were surprised that she was selected and not Tim Mace who was a military pilot and a champion in parachut sport. (British) Politics were behind that decision.
Cosmonaut Biography: Timothy Mace (http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/mace_timothy.htm)
Both were very nice people. Tim, R.I.P.

[bspatz]

Is anyone else slightly embarrassed that the UK, as one of the world's leading industrialised nations, should be celebrating getting the first UK sponsored astronaut 44 years after the first man in space?

[GlobalNav]

"Is anyone else slightly embarrassed that the UK, as one of the world's leading industrialised nations, should be celebrating getting the first UK sponsored astronaut 44 years after the first man in space?"

Please don't feel embarrassed. The USA should be instead for not inviting our good friends the UK sooner. And if you figured the average cost the US paid sending each astronaut to space, you might be happy the UK did not follow suit. And I'm actually an advocate of US manned space travel.

[Thomas coupling]

Us Brits love slobbering over old fashioned behind the times activities don't we:
This guy is 40+ years behind the times and the press are having an orgasm over it. When will we become a modern forward thinking nation?
Why aren't we pumping this sort of money into the Mars project or something as spectacular - not another bus ride to a clapped out hulk in space.
It's slightly embarrasing that we are making such a fuss over what is mundane in the USA and Russia.

:zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz:

[Fareastdriver]

I like watching big rockets blasting into space.

They're the only things I know that can burn through money faster than my wife.

[Onceapilot]

TBH, I expect this "mundane" orbital spaceflight is the limit for the next 50 years. It might be that a good reason to establish a "Moonbase" will also start in that time but, I do not think that a successful manned "visit" to another planet will occur within 100 years. Let's face it, we are limited to (part of) the Solar system folks,....until Scotty sorts out the Warp drive!;)

OAP

Ooops, PS, Well done Tim!:D

[Lima Juliet]

Oh FFS this is a boring sh!te. I endured nearly 20 mins of inane drivel this morning on Radio 4 hoping they would go to a newsworthy news item. Then there was a whole 15 mins during the Radio 4 six o'clock news on someone who is the 7th Brit in space. What else got a 30 secs slot of time on Radio 4? Unimportant stuff like:

1. US schools shut over terror threat.
2. Islamic anti-terror coalition forms.
3. Paris attack suspect arrested.
4. UK inflation goes positive.
5. UK armed policeman might be facing a manslaughter charge for a shooting.

But, no, we have to endure inane drivel about the 7th Brit in space. At present they are waiting for him to come through a door - what next, 'first' (not really) UK dump in space...? :ugh:

It seems to me that the BBC have bought the rights to this and so they are going to bombard us with this drivel for a few more days. Or the Govt have an agenda and there will be some sort of announcement following all this fawning.

Getting v, v, bored now. Thank goodness they have just wheeled out Helen Sharman on BBC 2 and Brian Cox is giving her credit as the 'first UK astronaut'.

Well done Brian. :D and well done Tim. :D

Now can we please move along as its all a bit embarassing as others have already stated.

LJ

[CoffmanStarter]

Leon ...

Or the Govt have an agenda and there will be some sort of announcement ...

Humm ... This was released today ...

Emerging Requirements : UK Spaceport

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spaceport-briefing-on-emerging-requirements

Yet we can't decide on where to increase future runway capacity around London :suspect:

[ewe.lander]

My goodness you lot are killjoys!

Well done Tim, enjoy the ride, you've done so very well. Yes, Tim Mace was a great guy too - so for his sake as well, I'm proud to have an Army Aviator in Space......

[Lima Juliet]

Thanks Coff

That might be it. There is something going on, I'm sure of it. I can't understand all this fawning.

I heard another interesting fact on the news today that the ESA selection process for Tim had involved 8,000 applicants. From Project Juno that Helen Sharman was selected from there were 13,000.

The more that I think about it, the more I am convinced that some Machievelian plan is being spun from this story...

LJ

PS. Ewe Lander. No, I'm delighted for Tim for fulfilling his dreams. I just don't need it 'rammed down my throat' by every single BBC news media outlet at present. :ok:

[ewe.lander]

LJ, so Tim Peake was selected from 8000 applicants, and Tim Mace (RIP) was second from 13,000 (your facts not mine), not bad for a small Corps within the British Army?? :ok:

[Onceapilot]

Coff and LJ,
I larffed and I larffed at that total Carp about a UK Spaceport. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,...etc.
Seriously, WHO is spending our money (TAX) on this?:yuk:

OAP

[Lima Juliet]

Here is another with the headline "the UK launches its first National Space Policy as Britain's first ESA astronaut launches"

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-space-policy-science-fiction-in-to-science-fact

Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid said:

For decades mankind has dreamt of space travel and the final frontier, and from today the UK will trigger the next scientific and innovation revolution to turn science fiction in to science fact.

Not only are we celebrating the launch of the first UK Government-backed astronaut, but our first ever space policy will build on the inspiration he provides to grow our burgeoning space industry and bring space back down to Earth.

Historically we haven’t been a major player in space programmes, this policy will change that because, in the words of my hero Mr Spock, to do anything else would be highly illogical.

Worth £11.8 billion to our economy and supporting numerous vital services like disaster relief, defence and transport, the Government is committed to growing the UK’s commercial space sector – with an ambition to capture 10% of the global market supporting 100,000 new jobs and generating £40bn for our economy by 2030.

So this is what the fuss is all about - it's Government spin and the 'independent' BBC!

LJ

ewe - there have still been 2x British born space shuttle astronauts that began their flying training with the RAF that have gone into space...meeow! :cool:

[ewe.lander]

LJ, I served in 4 RAF Sqns, so please don't assume - just proud for the lad! Woof!

[Fareastdriver]

not bad for a small Corps within the British Army??

I can't think of any RAF pilot that would volunteer for a six months stint with no TGIFs.

[Onceapilot]

LJ,..Stop it..my sides are hurting just reading that Gov. Carp.

OAP

[Lima Juliet]

OAP, I know mate, it now makes sense with that document and Coff's discovery why we're putting up with the big fanfare of the 7th Brit in space...:*

[Lima Juliet]

Fareast - yes, the irony is fantastic, the Brit astronauts that learmed to fly with the RAF travelled into space in the Space Shuttle with style, panache and relative comfort. Whereas the pongo went a bit later in 7th place in the space vehicle equivalent of a Vauxhall Viva. :p

[tartare]

True Leon.
But Comrade Korolev's Viva is still puttering along... whereas the Space Shuttle...

[Ken Scott]

Tim's rocket wasn't the only thing launched by the Russians today:




Russian cruise missile hits flats in Arctic accident

Part of a Russian cruise missile hit a block of flats by accident in Russia's north-west Arctic but nobody was hurt, media report.

[Genstabler]

He's the first proper British astronaut for God's sake. He didn't either pay for his ride or change nationality to help get the ride. If you negative blighters don't like the coverage, don't watch it. Strewth!

[smujsmith]

Hmm, does it really matter who is first etc ? Perhaps from a national perspective, the fact that we can't put our own people up there without other nations help, belies all claims. Can anyone tell me who is the first native Briton who went in to space on a British launched space vehicle ? Perhaps, as usual, our media are groping for anything that can sell chip wrappings. I see the PM has not failed to make the photo op either. Well done Major Peake, whatever your number in the sequence, there's no doubt you carry the best wishes of our nation with you.

Smudge :eek: (Oh goodness, have I put my foot in it again ?????)

[Two's in]

...and that Soviet Viva is less likely to randomly incinerate the occupants as opposed to the former shuttle.

[Danny42C]

Considering that the Space Shuttle Program lasted 30 yrs from 1981 to 2011, during which there were 133 successful launches (and two failures) [Wiki], and the intention was to build up to a launch a month, today's GREAT NEWS ITEM is a bit OLD HAT.

Having said that, all honour to Major Tim Peake, and I hope all goes well (you'll never get me up on one of those things !) :=

D.

[Onceapilot]

Get your facts right 2-sin!:rolleyes:

OAP

[Tankertrashnav]

Soviet Vauxhall Viva?

The Russians wisely adhere to the old saying -

"если он не сломался, то не исправить"

(If it ain't broke don't fix it).

[Wander00]

So long, given the amount we pay them in aid, we don't then pay to send a Brit up in an Indian space vehicle...................

[Onceapilot]

TTN,
The US Shuttle and the Soyuz fall into the broard group of systems with a worse than 1:100 chance of loss of crew (LOC), Soyuz about 1:50, Shuttle about 1:75.:hmm: Future manned systems have a desired target LOC of 1:1000 but, present new technology still will not meet that target.:uhoh:
I do not think I would accept even 1:1000 for a routine orbital flight.

OAP

[pasta]

Given the two Soyuz flights resulting in loss of crew were (according to Wikipedia) the 1st and 10th, and they've since flown 116 consecutive missions over 44 years (plus 2 in progress) with no fatalities, I think your assessment of 1:50 for the current hardware is a bit harsh.

The shuttle's 135 flights, with failures on flights 25 and 113, and arguably no real solution to the issue that led to the 2nd loss, paint a less encouraging picture.

[Molemot]

Anyone wanting to know a bit (!) more about the auto and manual docking systems could have a read of this...

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/press/DA_Schlottke.pdf

Keep a day or so spare...

[Onceapilot]

Pasta

Go find out yourself. Not my figures.

OAP

[Tourist]

I do not think I would accept even 1:1000 for a routine orbital flight.

OAP




I would.


And for you I'd be willing to accept far worse odds!

[Onceapilot]

Tourist

As usual, your flame post adds nothing to the topic.

OAP

[wiggy]

Pasta

Go find out yourself. Not my figures.

There's more to Shuttle/Soyuz than those numbers and I'd have to agree with pasta on this...

The early Soyuz programme in the mid-60s was very politically driven - the project was going head to head with Apollo. The designers and cosmonauts knew that original machine in the shape of Soyuz 1 wasn't man ready but for the sake of the Motherland..and funding - the decision was made to fly and Komarov lost his life.... Move down the road and handful of years to the second fatal flight, Soyuz 11 in '71. Depressurisation during the re-entry burn exposes a second design weakness. Rectified, plus a decision made to the return to wearing pressure suits for launch/entry. Since 71 there have been zero Soyuz in-flight fatalities (and at least 1 save from the Launch Escape system, a system the Shuttle lacked after the first handful of flights).

OTOH whilst the Shuttle sure looked good, was certainly a triumph of engineering, and was no doubt a pilot's spacecraft, it was loaded right from the start with compromises which were difficult, if not down right impossible to engineer out (such as the ice damage/LE tile strength problem that did for Columbia). It was not really capable of evolving into the reliable workhorse NASA promised it was going to be.

[Onceapilot]

wiggy

The figures are as NASA have calculated, not me! You have to factor the losses of same family booster non-human losses that have also occured. Likewise, Saturn V was not perfect just because it never had a LOC.;)
Anyway, the way forward must be with greater reliability and less risk, and that is my opinion.

OAP

[MAINJAFAD]

least 1 save from the Launch Escape system

They have had 2 launch failures with manned Soyuz flights, one was an off the pad abort with the LES, while the other was a third stage ignition at the correct time with the core stage still attached which resulted the whole stack tumbling until the crew manually aborted. There have been a number of very hairy Soyuz re-entries though some of which were almost fatal.

[Tourist]

Anyway, the way forward must be with greater reliability and less risk, and that is my opinion.

OAP


Again, I would disagree.


The modern fad that loss of life is unacceptable is crippling space flight.


If sailing to the new world, the moon landings, manned flight, parachuting, explosives, steam trains etc, (the list is endless) had been subjected to this requirement, then we would still be eating rocks.


Safety comes with time and repetition in all endeavours.


To require it at the beginning just stifles advancement.


An example is the fact that when NASA said they were going back to the moon, they gave themselves longer second time than the first time.
This despite quantum leaps in materials technology, drive technology and computing power.




Plenty are willing to take the risks, who are you to argue with them?


There is are reasons that China is going to rule the world, and chief among them is a appetite for risk.

[wiggy]

MAINJAFAD

Yep, understood The Russian programme has a bit of a history of rough re-entries, right from the get go with Gagarin's flight. I believe according to some sources the one of the cosmonauts involved in the late non "LES" abort you mentioned sustained career ending injuries.

OAP

Anyway, the way forward must be with greater reliability and less risk, and that is my opinion.

Agreed.

[MAINJAFAD]

one of the cosmonauts involved in the late non "LES" abort you mentioned sustained career ending injuries.

Didn't know about that, though I did know they didn't get their flight bonus because they didn't make orbit and had to fight all the way to the Politburo to get it.

[SilsoeSid]

Anyone else get the impression that if it was a crab up there, this thread would be rolling along totally different tracks :rolleyes:

Leon has a chip on his shoulder with a greater mass than that of the collective chips on shoulders of a hangar full of civi PPRuNe Rotorheads discussing ex-military pilots :ok:

Get over it.

[Ken Scott]

No, I don't get that impression. Some people obviously look for offence because presumably they have the chip on their shoulders. It matters not to me that Tim Peake used to be a pongo, I think he's done fantastically well & I am very envious.

I hope all threads will be similarly largely positive when a certain RAF pilot attempts to break the land speed record in a rocket powered car.....

[glad rag]

Tourist

As usual, your flame post adds nothing to the topic.

OAP

Oh I don't know..:hmm: I would imagine that Tim would find it quite amusing.

[strake]

I've known Piers Sellers family for many years and they fully understand the first 'Official' British astronaut guff that the media are spouting. That said, he's still a Sussex boy who obtained US nationality to achieve the dream because that was the only way he would get into space. An honourable action as far as I'm concerned given he wore his British heritage firmly on his sleeve during all three trips he made and has been a fantastic ambassador for NASA back in the UK since.

[Lima Juliet]

@SilsoeSid

Why, thank you...

http://www.mscheevious.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ChipOnShoulder.jpg

:rolleyes:

[SilsoeSid]

Nice self portrait Leon, but we all know that what matters most to some on this thread is not what you wear on your shoulder, but what is worn on your chest;

Isn't that right folks? ......

http://guzzable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CWPMZVLU4AADQ1S-225x300.jpg

:p

[Buster Hyman]

I think Ozzy Osbourne beat all other Brits off the planet.

[smujsmith]

Rock on Buster

Tucker T sends seasons greetings

Smudge :ok:

[iRaven]

Do you covet an ESA patch, then, Silsoe? I hear they are looking for cleaners...:p

iRaven

[SilsoeSid]

Lol, nice one iRaven :ok:

As it happens, in the bright yet distant past, I have cleaned the odd brew mug or two, maybe the odd plate & more than likely generally tidied up after Tim; would that not tenuously qualify me for that second badge on the chest?

[Dan Gerous]

Just been watching the ISS HDEV and got this rather nice view. Haven't looked in on it for a while and it seems to have sprouted another solar panel array, the gold coloured item in the foreground. Anyone any idea what it is?


http://i66.tinypic.com/242zalt.jpg

[Buster Hyman]

Sundial Dan....?

[Chris1012]

Cygnus CRS spacecraft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_CRS_OA-4

[SilsoeSid]

Hey Leon, are you watching?

NASA Television | NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/)

ISS Expedition 46 Spacewalk Coverage (Spacewalk scheduled to begin at appx. 7:55 a.m. ET; Kopra and Peake)


Mixture, Fuel, Flaps, Hood, Harness, Brakes …

http://southbank-utc.co.uk/app/uploads/2015/12/Tim-Peake-3.jpg

[MOSTAFA]

Sid, we both know LJ is busy right now googling something else that is totally obscure to disprove that the very first British military qualified pilot in space and of course the first to do a space walk just happens to come from the Army Air Corps.

Well done Tim you are on a solid green sortie so far.

[SilsoeSid]

Just heard;
How you doing Tim?

Yea fine, just hanging out.

:ok:

[Ken Scott]

Sid, we both know LJ is busy right now googling something else that is totally obscure to disprove that the very first British military qualified pilot in space and of course the first to do a space walk just happens to come from the Army Air Corps.



MOSTAFA: just what is your implication? That the AAC is better than the other services because Tim was once a member? You might as well claim that being a chocolate flavouring chemist is better than being in the AAC as that was the order chosen for a previous mission!

I think what Tim is doing up there is fantastic & I would dearly love to have a go myself but to claim some form of ascendancy for the service of which he was once a part is a bit of a stretch. After all he left the AAC to continue his flying career, presumably because the army considers flying to be a job for NCOs & only a part time distraction for officers. From his biog he seems to have spent much of his flying career away from the AAC either as a QFI or TP so it could be argued that he has achieved success both in aviation & as an astronaut despite his background rather than because of it........

[glad rag]

Af6jOq0dWqo

[MOSTAFA]

Ken Scott if you take the time to read the whole thread you'll understand I'm implying nothing of the sort. Your second paragraph is utter dross. Do I take pride in what he is doing - you are damn right I do and for a reason.

[glad rag]

Mission Control..."set torque driver to B6 setting"

AKA spelt "maximum".......

... BBC wifey..."Oh it's in now!.....


:D:D:D:D:D

suspect there might be a planet-full of "blokes" grinning just now...

[Ken Scott]

Dross or not MOSTAFA quite a few of the posts, yours included, seem to confer some sort of prestige on his former service as a consequence of his selection. I would take no greater pride in his achievement if he were ex-light blue than I do because he is a Brit. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon he was described as a civilian & not ex-USN.

[Genstabler]

Ken Scott

After all he left the AAC to continue his flying career, presumably because the army considers flying to be a job for NCOs & only a part time distraction for officers. From his biog he seems to have spent much of his flying career away from the AAC either as a QFI or TP so it could be argued that he has achieved success both in aviation & as an astronaut despite his background rather than because of it.

Oh dear! Chip alert!

[SilsoeSid]

Ken and Leon, separated at birth/Cranwell :ok:

[SilsoeSid]

Spacewalk terminated due to golf ball sized amount of water in the suit of Tim Kopra.

[Ken Scott]

Oh dear! Chip alert!

Not at all - proud to have served with a force for which aviation was the entire rationale rather than an extra on the side!

[SilsoeSid]

Oh dear! Chip alert!
Not at all - proud to have served with a force for which aviation was the entire rationale rather than an extra on the side!

Not bad then is it, to be up on the ISS after being in a force where aviation is, according to Kenny, just something on the side. :roll eyes:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03550/peakeflag_3550597b.jpg
:ok:

[glad rag]

To be honest, I don't give a flying :mad: what "force" he once served in.

What he has achieved since is quite incredible. :D:D:D:D

[Two's in]

If he was a dedicated AAC Pilot, he would have refused the to go as soon as he realized that despite a circa 4,320 hour sortie, he could only clock one landing, and therefore was not eligible for aircrew rations...

[Alber Ratman]

Agree with Glad Rag, who gives a flying F*** what service he joined up. He was selected over others on merit and his capability to do what he is doing. Great to see a Briton doing an EVA as a Briton with the union flag on his suit, never thought one would see that in my lifetime with the attitude HM Government had to manned spaceflight in the past.

[Lima Juliet]

I rather enjoyed the Radio 4 interview with Nick Patrick who has done 18hrs of spacewalking some 10 years ago. The Radio 4 presenter asked him what it would be like for Tim to do a spacewalk.

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 15/01/2016, An astronaut's guide to spacewalking (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fkkm8)

I probably need to remind the teeny-brained Teeny Weeny Airways chaps about Nick. He is British born, the RAF taught him to fly, he attended Harrow/Cambridge, carried a RAF Ensign into space for the Chief of the Air Staff and in the clip you can hear he has still got a fine English accent. He had to become a US citizen to get his way onto the NASA program and flew in a spacecraft with wings rather than a washing-machine tub with a heat shield.

Read it and weep Teeny Weeny boys, your ex AAC chap got there after the ex RAF chap...:E

LJ

http://www.halton96th.org.uk/wpimages/wpad57b76f.gif

[tartare]

I wonder if he found himself floating in a most peculiar way...
Lucky man, and seemed very humble from the doco we watched down here in Aus.

[Trim Stab]

I probably need to remind the teeny-brained Teeny Weeny Airways chaps about Nick. He is British born, the RAF taught him to fly, he attended Harrow/Cambridge, carried a RAF Ensign into space for the Chief of the Air Staff and in the clip you can hear he has still got a fine English accent.


Why has aviating got anything at all to do with astronauting, except for historical antecedent from the moon launches?

Looked at rationally, the best modern-day space-station candidates would be submariners (trained to live in ****e conditions on rubbish food for months on end, respiring their own farts, drinking their own piss, and managing complex machines), with experience in scuba-diving (nearest simulation to space walking), and some parachuting experience (so re-entry is familiar). So look at SPAG blokes.

[Courtney Mil]

Ah. I spotted your subtle reference to a well known rock singer there, Tartare. Greg Lake.

[MOSTAFA]

Trained to do what LJ, because if it was to become a qualified RAF pilot he obviously didn't pass. Have a go at googling Dr Nick Patrick and show us all an image of him wearing a RAF brevet and a Union Flag because the only ones I see are of him wearing a US flying badge and his shoulder emblazoned with Old Glory.

[SilsoeSid]

Read it and weep Teeny Weeny boys, your ex AAC chap got there after the ex RAF chap... :E


Read it and laugh you mean, the only connection Nick Patrick had with the RAF is his two years in the Cambridge University Air Squadron :rolleyes:

[glad rag]

I wish I was the Op, I'd make this disappear...

[Lima Juliet]

Oh, so easy...

http://www.toffeetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/fishing.gif

...Pongo fishing...

[Thelma Viaduct]

How many Brits are in the secret space program with their anti-gravity craft and what not?

Some gwar going round the earth isn't very interesting, water in helmet or not.

[SilsoeSid]

Oh, so easy...
http://www.toffeetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/fishing.gif
... Pongo fishing ...

Ah, poor dear.
After being torn apart, the old "I was only winding you up" routine.
:rolleyes:


Anyone care to read this thread again to see who was actually doing the fishing :ok:

[SilsoeSid]

Pongoes in Space :ok:

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g11/silsoesid/34e1c87efb7e00e41dcc3c5eee022262_zpsrcvrfdgm.jpg

[Corporal Clott]

Sadly for you Silsoe, I think Leon has flamed your argument and certainly hooked you on the last one http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-violent028.gif

Whilst this is a great personal achievement for Tim, and good for the Army Air Corps, he joins a precession of Brits that have done all of this before him. We can try and dress it up however we like but there is no great national milestone here. Sharman was the first and a bunch of Brits followed before Tim started. If he was still a serving officer then that would be a first for HMForces, but he is an ESA employee just like the other Brits before that were part of Project JUNO or had to take US citizenship to join the NASA Program.

'Nuff said :rolleyes:

CPL Clott

[Corporal Clott]

PS. Just looked at your picture and found a first. Is he the first Flight Engineer for the AAC? :p :p

[SilsoeSid]

Whilst this is a great personal achievement for Tim, and good for the Army Air Corps, he joins a precession of Brits that have done all of this before him. We can try and dress it up however we like but there is no great national milestone here. Sharman was the first and a bunch of Brits followed before Tim started. If he was still a serving officer then that would be a first for HMForces, but he is an ESA employee just like the other Brits before that were part of Project JUNO or had to take US citizenship to join the NASA Program.

Thanks for that Cpl Clott (RAF),
You couldn't be bothered to read the previous posts on this thread then I see!

If you had, you'll see that none of us here have claimed any firsts on this topic, you've simply been blinded by your own crabby envy.
Seems to me that if you and Leon entered a three legged race, the saving grace would be that your chips would balance the pair of you out. :ok:


… but he is an ESA employee just like the other Brits before that were part of Project JUNO or had to take US citizenship to join the NASA Program.

I'm sure Helen Sharman wasn't an ESA employee, and as for the others :confused::confused::confused:

[glad rag]

I wonder, when he looks back, what will be his fondest and most satisfying memory.

[SilsoeSid]

I wonder, when he looks back, what will be his fondest and most satisfying memory.

Walking straight past the RAF Careers Office and into the Army Careers Office?

:p