Tim Graphic
National Space Centre

Top 10 Tim Triumphs

  • 27th Nov 2025
  • Author: Chloe Hopkinson

Tim Peake’s journey to become the first ever British ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut is one of ambition, bravery, and pure determination. A childhood love for adventure steered him to soaring the skies in military helicopters, before blasting off to space to float hundreds of kilometres about Earth on a historic mission beyond our planet, making him one of Britain’s most inspiring modern voyagers.

This mini blog celebrates ten unforgettable triumphs from Tim’s extraordinary journey from Earth to the stars!

  1. ESA Astronauts 2009
    ESA

    1. Astronaut Selection

    Tim’s life changed forever in May 2009 when he was chosen as one of just six new ESA astronauts. His training began almost immediately. He didn’t just learn how to fly a rocket; the training covered a plethora of topics and coaching, including learning the Russian language, the science and engineering of space travel, survival training in the wilderness, and how to conduct minor surgeries in microgravity!

  1. Tim Peake in capsule with image of playlist
    ESA / National Space Centre

    2. Blast Off Beats

    Astronauts are allowed to choose three songs to listen to inside the Soyuz capsule before blasting off into space. Tim chose Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, U2’s ‘Beautiful Day’, and Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full of Stars’. Music on the launch pad helps astronauts take their mind off the fact that they’re sat on almost one tonne of flammable material set to ignite and fire them upwards into the air at speeds of over 17,000mph...

    If anyone is interested, my three tracks would be Oasis – Champagne Supernova, Harry Styles – Satellite, and Fleetwood Mac – The Chain.

  1. Tim with flying meal items
    ESA / National Space Centre

    3. Bacon Sarnie and a Cuppa

    Tim’s first meal onboard was a bacon sarnie and a cup of Yorkshire tea – the best brand of tea might I add. Now his cuppa wasn’t exactly a cuppa; it was more of a foil pouch with a tea bag, creamer, sugar and hot water inside sipped up through a straw. The age-old debate has been settled; you heard it here first – astronauts put the milk in first.

  1. Tim Marathon Running
    ESA

    4. Off-World Record Holder

    Tim completed the London Marathon from space in an off-world record time of 3 hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds. Though, he was over 400km away from London whilst onboard the ISS. He was the first astronaut to run a marathon in space and orbited the Earth twice during his run.

  1. Tim BRIT Awards
    ESA

    5. BRIT Award Presenter

    In February 2016, Tim made a surprise appearance to present Adele with a Global Success Award during the BRIT Awards Ceremony. He video called down from the ISS and is the first person to present a BRIT Award from space! Tim literally was saying 'Hello from the other siiiiiiide'...

  1. Tim Rocket Seeds
    ESA / Whut

    6. Space Seeds

    Tim took part in an experiment to see if space travel has any effect on salad rocket seeds. Tim took 2kg of rocket seeds into space which were then distributed to 600,000 children in schools who planted and monitored their growth. The conclusion? The space seeds grew ever so slightly slower than seeds that remained on Earth – but they were still edible and provided breakthrough data to bring scientists one step closer to mastering space-grown food.

  1. Tim Gagarin Book
    ESA

    7. 'Road to the Stars'

    Helen Sharman’s (the first British astronaut ever!) signed copy of Yuri Gagarin’s autobiography, ‘Road to the Stars’, was taken into space for its second trip. Helen took it with her to the Mir Space Station when she was presented with the book during her cosmonaut training at Star City near to Moscow in 1989. It is on display at the National Space Centre, and we’ve promised to give it back when the next British astronaut goes to space – any takers?

  1. Tim EVA
    ESA

    8. Spacewalk!

    Tim became the first British person to perform a spacewalk in January 2016 alongside NASA astronaut Tim Kopra. He spent 4.5 hours out in the vacuum of space to replace a failed power regulator and install important cabling. The spacewalk was cut short when Kopra noticed a water bubble floating in his helmet!

  1. Tim Photography
    ESA / Tim Peake

    9. Eye in the Sky

    During his time in space, Tim captured over 400 incredible photos of planet Earth. From breathtaking auroras, to twinkling city lights of many countries, from the arid deserts of Africa to the frosty terrain of Canada, Tim captured it all as he orbited the Earth almost 3,000 times during his mission.

  1. Tim Blood Drawn
    ESA

    10. Human Guinea Pig

    Over the course of six months, Tim engaged with over 1.6 million young people whilst carrying out over 250 experiments. Experiments help researchers on Earth better understand everything from human health in space, to the technology needed for future space exploration. Astronauts are usually ‘human guinea pigs’ as they perform a lot of research on themselves, testing their blood, vision, airways, and muscle and bone physiology. Tim’s other investigations included growing vegetables and flowers in the Vegetable Production System (known as Veggie), remotely controlling a prototype robot that was in Stevenage, UK, and exploring the process of heating, melting and solidification of metals and metallic alloys on the space station's onboard furnace.

Tim Pose Pic
ESA

Tim Peake’s legacy is not restricted to the bounds of the ISS. Tim is a beacon for science and an advocate for space, sharing his experiences and stories in hopes of inspiring generations to following pathways and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Tim uses his platform to influence and motivate people to be curious about the world and the possibilities that space exploration provides.

Tim Peake’s journey proves that curiosity and courage can take you to the stars. His story reminds us that space exploration isn’t just about where we go – it’s about who we inspire and captivate along the way. And with role models like Tim leading the charge, the future of discovery has never looked brighter.

Tim Peake Highlight Reel

Full Credits / References:

(Banner image) Illustration of Tim Peake, Credit: National Space Centre

(List of Top 10) Photos of Tim, Credit: ESA

(List of Top 10) Photos of Yorkshire Tea Box and Bacon Sarnie Can, Credit: National Space Centre

(List of Top 10) Photo of foil tea pouch, Credit: UK Space Agency

(List of Top 10) Photos of rocket salad leaves, Credit: Whut/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eruca_sativa.jpg) 

(All carousel images) Credit: ESA