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| Tim Peake set for first spacewalk by British astronaut | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Tim Peake is to carry out the first ever spacewalk by a British astronaut, Nasa has confirmed. | |
| Mr Peake and Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra will venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 January to replace a failed voltage regulator. | Mr Peake and Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra will venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 January to replace a failed voltage regulator. |
| Mr Peake launched on a Russian rocket on 15 December to begin a six-month stay on the orbiting outpost. | Mr Peake launched on a Russian rocket on 15 December to begin a six-month stay on the orbiting outpost. |
| This will be the second spacewalk in under three weeks for Mr Kopra, who has flown into space once before, in 2009. | This will be the second spacewalk in under three weeks for Mr Kopra, who has flown into space once before, in 2009. |
| The two Tims will don their spacesuits and exit the US Quest airlock to replace an electrical box known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU). | The two Tims will don their spacesuits and exit the US Quest airlock to replace an electrical box known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU). |
| The failure of this voltage regulator on 13 November last year compromised one of the station's eight power channels. | The failure of this voltage regulator on 13 November last year compromised one of the station's eight power channels. |
| Mr Peake supported a spacewalk on 21 December last year, in which Mr Kopra and station commander Scott Kelly moved a stalled component known as the "mobile transporter" on the outside of the ISS. | Mr Peake supported a spacewalk on 21 December last year, in which Mr Kopra and station commander Scott Kelly moved a stalled component known as the "mobile transporter" on the outside of the ISS. |
| The Briton stayed inside the ISS, helping the Americans don their spacesuits and monitor their progress for mission control. | The Briton stayed inside the ISS, helping the Americans don their spacesuits and monitor their progress for mission control. |
| This time, he will be the one to get inside the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), the spacesuit used by US and European astronauts on the station. | |
| Mr Peake is the first British astronaut to fly into space since Helen Sharman spent a week on the Soviet space station Mir in May 1991. | |
| The UK government has traditionally been opposed to human spaceflight, which has led to other Britons flying into space with the US space agency. | |
| Piers Sellers and Nicholas Patrick were both selected for space shuttle missions. Mr Sellers accumulated 41 hours and 10 minutes of "extra-vehicular activity" time during six spacewalks in his astronaut career. | |
| Another UK-born astronaut who has flown with Nasa, Michael Foale, has dual citizenship on account of his American mother. | |
| Follow Paul on Twitter. | Follow Paul on Twitter. |