Chronicles the history of the British space program from Blue Steel to Principia and the history of British astronauts from Helen Sharman to Tim Peake

Explains why it took the U.K the best part of a quarter of a century to launch its second astronaut

Describes the selection and training undertaken by Tim Peake in preparation for the Principia mission

This book puts the reader in the flight suit of Britain's first male astronaut, Tim Peake. It chronicles his life, along with the Principia mission and the down-to-the-last-bolt descriptions of life aboard the ISS, by way of the hurdles placed by the British government and the rigors of training at Russia's Star City military base. In addition, this book discusses the learning curves required in astronaut and mission training and the complexity of the technologies required to launch an astronaut and keep them alive for months on end. This book underscores the fact that technology and training, unlike space, do not exist in a vacuum; complex technical systems, like the ISS, interact with the variables of human personality, and the cultural background of the astronauts. 

"This installment in Springer's space exploration series focuses on the UK's role in space exploration. ? Seedhouse (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ.) supplements his text with many photographs and interesting appendixes, including information on the ESA astronaut selection criteria, the Soyuz-TMA Spacecraft, and science projects on the ISS. This book will be appreciated by those with an interest in British and European space programs." (J. Z. Kiss, Choice, Vol. 56 (1), September, 2018)