Ex-pilot to be first British astronaut on space station
Bed-sharing danger to new babies
A FORMER Army test pilot is to become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and says it will be less dangerous than his old job.
Major Tim Peake, 41, will be the first UK astronaut in space for more than 20 years. One of six candidates selected from more than 8000 hopefuls, he will live and work on the space station for six months, starting in November 2015.
Asked at a news conference at the Science Museum in London if he was worried about dangers on t he mission, he said: “No, I think my future career is probably far safer than my past career. I’ve carried out some fairly high-risk flight tests. It’s not an unfamiliar environment to be working in.”
Maj Peake will carry out a science programme and take part in a European education initiative before and during his mission.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “This is a momentous day, not just for Tim Peake but for Great Britain. It is a great sign of our thriving British space sector, which has seen real growth thanks to our world-class research, and now supports nearly 30,000 jobs.
“Tim was picked from over 8000 applicants from around the world. I am sure he will do us proud and inspire the next generation to pursue exciting careers in science and engineering.” AROUND 120 baby deaths could be prevented in the UK every year if parents stopped sharing beds with their children, research suggests.
A new study found breastfed babies under the age of three months who slept in their parents’ beds faced a five-fold risk of cot death.
It said about 40% of the 300 cot-death cases in the UK each year could be prevented if parents avoided taking children into their beds for sleeping.
The research, published in the BMJ Open, found 22% of cot deaths happened when babies were in their parents’ bed. It estimates that 88% of t hese would not have happened if bed-sharing had been avoided.