Tim Peake ready for his mission to the space station

Watch live as ESA astronaut Tim Peake becomes the first British citizen to walk in space. He will step outside the International Space Station with fellow astronaut Tim Kopra to perform crucial repairs on the orbiting outpost’s electrical system.

Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, received a congratulatory phone call from Tim Peake aboard the International Space Station during celebrations in London to mark the 25th anniversary of her historic mission to the Mir space station.

In recent nights, observers in the UK and Western Europe have seen the International Space Station (ISS) as a bright naked-eye ‘star’ moving slowly across the sky from west to east. On Thursday, 9 June, London is favoured for some close approaches of the ISS to the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. If you see the Station, spare a thought for Tim Peake and the Expedition 47 crew on board!