Astronaut Peake given station date

Tim Peake says he is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to go to the International Space Station (ISS).

The UK astronaut told BBC News it was a "huge privilege" and the culmination of everything he had worked for during his aviation career.

A former major and helicopter pilot in the British Army Air Corps, Tim Peake, external will join Expedition 46 to the ISS, launching in November or December 2015.

Dr Thomas Reiter, the European Space Agency's human spaceflight director, told our correspondent Jonathan Amos that Tim Peake had all the qualities to succeed.