Timothy Nigel "Tim" Peake is a British Army Air Corps officer, European Space Agency astronaut, and a former International Space Station (ISS) crew member. Born on April 7, 1972, Peake is the first British ESA astronaut, the second astronaut to bear a British flag patch, the sixth person born in the United Kingdom to go on board the International Space Station, and the seventh UK-born person in space. He began the ESA's intensive astronaut basic training course in September 2009 and graduated on 22 November 2010.\n \nPeake is a former Apache pilot, flight instructor, test pilot, and current European Space Agency astronaut. He has flown over 3,000 hours on multiple aircraft types and graduated top of his class from the prestigious Empire Test Pilot's School. Peake commanded a platoon of soldiers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and deployed on operations to Bosnia and Afghanistan. After a year-long selection process, he was chosen from over 8000 applicants to be one of six new astronauts as part of the European Astronaut Corps. During astronaut training, he spent seven days living in a cave and twelve days living underwater.
Peake's six-month mission 'Principia' to the ISS inspired a nation, engaging with more than 2 million students as part of a highly successful outreach program. While in space, he conducted over 250 scientific experiments, oversaw an emergency spacewalk, and also ran the 2016 London marathon. Peake's autobiography, Limitless, tells the often very amusing story of how a short, ginger lad with a passion for flight and all things outdoors went from Soldier, Pilot, Parent to Astronaut. Now back on Earth, Peake continues to work to promote opportunities for young people as an ambassador for STEM education, The Prince's Trust, and The Scout Association. He is the best-selling author of Hello is this Planet Earth?, Ask an Astronaut, and The Astronaut Selection Test Book. The proceeds from which were donated to support the work of The Prince's Trust.