Timothy Peake completed his secondary
education at Chichester High School for Boys in West Sussex, England, in 1990.
In 1992, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer
in the British Army Air Corps. Having been selected for the Empire Test
Pilots School at Boscombe Down, he graduated in 2005 and was awarded the
Westland Trophy for the best rotary wing pilot student. He received a Bachelor
of Science degree in flight dynamics and evaluation from the University of
Portsmouth in 2006.
At school, Timothy Peake was a member of the Combined
Cadet Force for six years, finishing as Cadet Warrant Officer. Before joining
the Army he was part of a six-month Operation Raleigh expedition to Alaska to
work on environmental projects. Upon becoming an Army Air Corps officer in
1992, Timothy Peake served on attachment with the Royal Green Jackets as a
Platoon Commander in Northern Ireland before beginning flight training. He was
awarded his Army Flying Wings in 1994. Between 1994 and 1998 he served as a
reconnaissance pilot and flight commander in Germany, the Former Republic of
Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Kenya and Canada. He also qualified as a Combat
Survival and Rescue Instructor, and a Flight Safety Officer. Timothy Peake
qualified as a helicopter flying instructor in 1998 before being selected for
an exchange posting with the US Army (19992002). On his return to the UK,
he became an Apache helicopter instructor from 2002 to 2005, before being
selected for test-pilot training. On completion of test-pilot training, Timothy
Peake served with Rotary Wing Test Squadron, Boscombe Down, between 2006 and
2009. He was involved in numerous test flights on several different types of
military helicopter. He was also the Squadron Training Officer and qualified as
a Post Crash Management Incident Officer. On retirement from the British Army
as a major in 2009, Timothy Peake was employed as a senior helicopter test
pilot for AgustaWestland. During his career, he has logged over 3000
hours flying time on more than 30 types of helicopter and fixed wing
aircraft, including the Hawk, Dakota, Harvard and Mi-17. He maintains his
flying as a major in the Territorial Army, and also holds a private
pilots licence.
Timothy Peake was selected as an
ESA
astronaut in May 2009. He joined
ESA in
September 2009 and completed Astronaut Basic Training in November 2010. He
received Eurocom certification in September 2011, which allows him to be
responsible for communication between astronauts in orbit and Europes
Mission Control Centre. In June 2012, Timothy Peake spent 12 days in the
Aquarius habitat 20 m below the sea off the coast of Florida for
NASAs Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or
NEEMO. NEEMO allows space agencies to test technologies and conduct research
for future missions. Timothy Peakes NEEMO 16 mission focused on
developing the tools, techniques and procedures required for a crewed mission
to an asteroid.
Among his leisure activities he enjoys skiing, scuba
diving, cross-country running, climbing, and mountaineering in his wifes
native Scotland. He has also completed the London Marathon. Other interests
include quantum physics and aviation.