Tim Peake to beam up in person in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Major Tim Peake regularly posted remarkable pictures of Scotland from space.

The 44-year-old, who famously made the first spacewalk by a British astronaut during his 186-day mission which ended last June, will appear in both Glasgow and Edinburgh next month.

Major Peake, who famously posted pictures of Scotland on Twitter, also sent a message to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay revellers from space.

Major Peake was chosen from a pool of 8000 applicants in 2009 to join the European Space Agency astronaut training programme, along with five other recruits. He became the first person to fly to space under the UK banner since Helen Sharman in 1991.

The events in Edinburgh and Glasgow are part of a UK-wide tour which will also take in Cardiff, Leicester, Manchester, Belfast and London.

He said today: “I’ve been extremely touched by the support of the British public before, during and after my mission to the ISS and I hope that my post-flight tour will allow me to thank as many of those people as possible.”

Fellow NASA cremate Tim Kopra will join Major Peake on stage at the Usher hall event, which the Edinburgh International Science Festival is staging on October 17 with the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency. Major Peake will also be appearing at the Glasgow Science Centre the previous day.

Festival director Simon Gage said: ““I am thrilled to be welcoming Tim Peake and his NASA colleague Tim Kopra to Edinburgh.

“Our aim across all the work we do is to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds with the wonders of science and technology.”

Rebecca Evernden, director of policy at the UK Space Agency, added: “The Principia mission has been a huge success and the British public have followed it all the way. We’re delighted that Tim, along with his NASA colleague Tim Kopra, will be touring the UK giving their own perspective on their time on the ISS."