Tim Peake Spends Two More Weeks on Board the International Space Station

First Posted: May 02, 2016 04:50 AM EDT
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Tim Peake, the British astronaut who was sent on a mission to space aboard the International Space Station, was told that he will stay on the space craft. The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on April 30 that Peake and his crew will stay another two weeks aboard ISS.

The Briton travelled the International Space Station (ISS) in December with an American Tim Kopra and Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko. The three was originally set to return to Earth on June 5 but will now come back on the 18th of June. Peake took to twitter and announced his trip extension saying, "I get to stay an extra few days in space." Peake also said that he is looking forward to being back but loving his time in space because he has time to do more, Tech Times reported.

Mission controllers have kept the men aboard the space station to make sure that the space craft is fully manned with six astronauts for as long as possible while having a changeover of its crews. The European Space Agency announced that there will be three-strong crew who will take off from Earth on June 21, three days after Major Peake and his crew's return.

Peake also said that he is looking forward to go back to spend time with his friends and family again. He also expressed how grateful he is to be able to wake up every day and work on the space station. "This extension will keep the station at a full crew of six for several days longer, enabling us to accomplish more scientific research, Peake said. "And, of course, I get to enjoy the beautiful view of planet Earth for a little while longer," he continued.

According to The Telegraph, Major Timothy Peake became the very first British astronaut to walk in space five months ago. Since then, he has sent two video messages back to Earth and just last week, he ran the London Marathon using an on-board treadmill. He finished with a time of of three hours 35 minutes 21 seconds - which means his space run was 16 minutes and 31 seconds slower than his Earth attempt back in 1999.

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