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Tim Peake to help with space walk, Nasa says Tim Peake assists with space walk
(2 days later)
UK astronaut Tim Peake is to be involved in assisting two astronauts carry out a space walk outside the International Space Station (ISS) next week. UK astronaut Tim Peake is helping two astronauts to conduct a space walk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday.
Fellow crew members Tim Kopra and Scott Kelly will go outside the ISS to fix a broken component, possibly as early as Monday, Nasa said. Fellow crew members Tim Kopra and Scott Kelly, from the US space agency Nasa, are going outside the ISS to fix a broken component.
As they got suited up and prepared to go out into space, they received assistance from Tim Peake and Sergey Volkov.
Mr Peake arrived at the ISS on Tuesday.
He is the first UK astronaut to be selected by the European Space Agency and will spend six months aboard the space station.
Dressing duties
The space walk was due to start at 13:10 GMT (08:10 EST) and should last between three and three-and-a-half hours, Nasa said.
But the astronauts' preparations proceeded faster than expected and the walk commenced at about 12:45 GMT.
"It will be a very busy and interesting day for Tim," said Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency."It will be a very busy and interesting day for Tim," said Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency.
Mr Peak arrived at the ISS on Tuesday. The space walk is the seventh time ISS crew members have ventured outside in 2015.
He is the first UK astronaut to be employed as a professional astronaut by the European Space Agency. It is taking place so the astronauts can try to fix a stalled component called the "mobile transporter" - a rail car that moves a robotic arm up and down the length of the space station.
Mission control
The space walk is taking place so the astronauts can try to fix a component called the "mobile transporter" - a rail that runs along much of the length of the space station, which a robotic arm can move along.
Mr Peake, who is spending six months in space, will be following the space walk from the inside, the BBC's science correspondent Pallab Ghosh said.
His duties will involve getting the crew suited and out of the airlock while talking to mission control, he added.
The mobile transporter became stuck on Wednesday.The mobile transporter became stuck on Wednesday.
"The cause of the stall is being evaluated, but experts believe it may be related to a stuck brake handle," said the mission's operations manager, Kenny Todd."The cause of the stall is being evaluated, but experts believe it may be related to a stuck brake handle," said the mission's operations manager, Kenny Todd.
The space walk will be the third in Mr Kelly's career and the second for Mr Kopra. Space station managers want to ensure the component is latched down ahead of the arrival of a cargo supply ship at the ISS on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mr Peake, who is spending his first weekend in space, has thanked the thousands of people around the world who sent him good luck messages. Mr Peake's duties included getting the crew suited and out of the airlock while talking to mission control.
The space walk is the third in Mr Kelly's career and the second for Mr Kopra.
Giving bloodGiving blood
His blog also contains a selection of some of the best messages from social media sites Twitter and Instagram. Meanwhile, Mr Peake, who is spending his first weekend in space, has thanked the thousands of people around the world who sent him good luck messages.
As he does not have the time to reply to each message individually, he wrote: "The support for our launch was outstanding, and I want to thank each of you for the #GoodLuckTim messages. On his blog, he wrote: "The support for our launch was outstanding, and I want to thank each of you for the #GoodLuckTim messages.
"From the schoolchildren who watched the launch in class, people watching on the underground, and viewers outside of UK, your messages have shown how much interest there is in space and they mean a great deal to me."From the schoolchildren who watched the launch in class, people watching on the underground, and viewers outside of UK, your messages have shown how much interest there is in space and they mean a great deal to me.
"We are very busy up here but I promise to start sharing more of our life in space soon.""We are very busy up here but I promise to start sharing more of our life in space soon."
The former Army aviator and helicopter test pilot has posted three pictures to his Twitter feed since Friday - one of the view towards Earth, one of him giving a thumbs-up to all his supporters and another of him giving blood for experiments being conducted in space.
On Friday, during a live link-up from the space platform, he said his first few days in space had been "absolutely spectacular".On Friday, during a live link-up from the space platform, he said his first few days in space had been "absolutely spectacular".
Answering questions from reporters gathered at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, he said the first two hours had been "pretty rough" and he had been feeling "disorientated and dizzy".Answering questions from reporters gathered at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, he said the first two hours had been "pretty rough" and he had been feeling "disorientated and dizzy".
But he was able to show them a backwards somersault and said he was surprised how quickly his body had adapted to weightlessness.But he was able to show them a backwards somersault and said he was surprised how quickly his body had adapted to weightlessness.