British Astronauts
Because the UK government has never developed a manned spaceflight programme and does not contribute any funding to the manned space flight part of ESA's activities, the few British-born astronauts have launched with either the American or Russian space programmes. Despite this, on October 9, 2008, UK Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson spoke favourably of the idea of a British astronaut.
To date, six British-born astronauts and one non-British born UK citizen have flown in space:
| Name | Birthplace | Missions | First launch date | Nationality/ies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Sharman | Grenoside, Sheffield, South Yorkshire | Soyuz TM-12/11 | 18 May 1991 | |
| First Briton in space. Partially funded by private UK citizen in Project Juno and by the USSR. | ||||
| Michael Foale | Louth, Lincolnshire | STS-45 (Atlantis) STS-56 (Discovery) STS-63 (Discovery) STS-84/86 (Atlantis) STS-103 (Discovery) Soyuz TMA-3 |
24 March 1992 | / |
| Stayed on both Mir and the International Space Station as a NASA astronaut. On 9 February 1995, during STS-63, he became the first Briton to perform an EVA. He is a US citizen through his mother. | ||||
| Mark Shuttleworth | Welkom, Orange Free State, South Africa | Soyuz TM-34/33 | 27 April 2002 | / |
| Self-funded "space tourist" to the International Space Station. Born a South African, he also holds UK citizenship. | ||||
| Piers Sellers | Crowborough, Sussex | STS-112 (Atlantis) STS-121 (Discovery) STS-132 (Atlantis) |
7 October 2002 | / |
| NASA astronaut. US citizen since 1991. | ||||
| Nicholas Patrick | Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire | STS-116 (Discovery) STS-130 (Endeavour) |
9 December 2006 | / |
| NASA astronaut. US citizen since 1994. | ||||
| Gregory H. Johnson | South Ruislip, Middlesex | STS-123 (Endeavour) STS-134 (Endeavour) |
11 March 2008 | / |
| NASA astronaut. Born in UK to US parents. | ||||
| Richard Garriott | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | Soyuz TMA-13/12 | 12 October 2008 | / |
| Self-funded "space tourist" to the International Space Station. Born in UK to US parents (son of Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott). | ||||
Dr. Anthony Llewellyn (born in Cardiff, Wales) was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967 but resigned in September 1968, having never flown in space.
Army Lieutenants-Colonel Anthony Boyle (born in Kidderminster) and Richard Farrimond (born in Birkenhead, Cheshire), MoD employee Christopher Holmes (born in London), Royal Navy Commander Peter Longhurst (born in Staines, Middlesex) and RAF Squadron Leader Nigel Wood (born in York) were selected in February 1984 as payload specialists for the Skynet 4 Program, intended for launch using the Space Shuttle. Boyle resigned from the program in July 1984 due to Army commitments. Prior to the cancellation of the missions in the wake of the Challenger disaster, Wood was due to fly aboard Shuttle mission STS-61-H in 1986 (with Farrimond serving as his back-up) and Longhurst was due to fly aboard Shuttle mission STS-71-D in 1987 (with Holmes serving as back-up). All resigned in 1986, having not flown.
Army Air Corps Major Timothy Mace (born in Catterick, Yorkshire) served as back-up to Helen Sharman for the Soyuz TM-12 / Project Juno mission in 1991. He resigned in 1991, having not flown.
On May 20, 2009, the European Space Agency announced that Major Timothy Peake, an Army Air Corps test pilot from Chichester, West Sussex, had been accepted as a member of the European Astronaut Corps.
Read more about this topic: British Space Programme
Famous quotes containing the words british and/or astronauts:
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—Jane Clark, British millionaire politician’s wife. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 15 (June 13, 1994)
“Just opening up the door, having this ordinary person fly, says a lot for the future. You can always equate astronauts with explorers who were subsidized. Now you are getting someone going just to observe. And then you’ll have the settlers.”
—Christa McAuliffe (1948–1986)