Britain’s member of the International Space Station crew tells a news conference he loves the feeling of weightlessness.
British astronaut Tim Peake has said that the experience he is most looking forward to in space is weightlessness.
The former Army major said that he had enjoyed practising for zero gravity when training for his mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.
:: Watch Tim Peake blast off into space at 11.03am tomorrow on Sky News TV – channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132 – and on our mobile apps
Major Peake was speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan from where he will blast off to spend six months on the ISS carrying out hundreds of experiments.
He said: “There have been a couple of highlights while training – experiencing weightlessness for up to 30 seconds at a time and training for space walks.
“I think the fact that we are here and ready to go, it’s thanks to the teams of people that support the operation.”
Here are 10 amazing facts about life on the ISS:
:: The Americans drink their own urine, sweat and shower run-off; the Russians don’t. Ninety-three per cent of the water on board is reclaimed – about 6,000 litres a year.
:: Without a ventilation fan, sleeping astronauts would suffocate in a cloud of their own carbon dioxide. Without gravity, hot air doesn’t rise and there are no air currents to mix gases.
:: Most astronauts tie themselves down to sleep. Those who float free get sucked towards the air filter and wake with a bump.
:: They wear disposable clothes – a clean set every three days. And there’s no shower – just wet towels.
:: Astronauts grow in space. Without the compressive force of gravity their spines and other joints expand by 5-8cm.
:: The ISS clocks are set to GMT. Originally it worked on Texas time (GMT -5) to match the main control centre in Houston, but that caused problems for the Russians (GMT +3).
:: Without gravity even typing produces enough force to push astronauts away from their keyboards. Desks are fitted with restraining loops for their feet.
:: NASA astronauts eat real ice-cream. The freeze-dried stuff was launched with Apollo 7 in 1968. These days it’s just for gift shops.
:: The Western and Russian crew spend much of their time apart. They sleep and work in different sections. They meet up for meals – and barter food items.
:: Some hawkish Russian politicians want to detach the Russian segment and fly free. Tensions rose following the Russian annexation of Crimea, leading to talk of a break-away. But the Russians still need to attach a laboratory and a science and power module. That’s unlikely to happen before 2020.
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