Summary

  • British astronaut Tim Peake has returned to Earth after a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS)

  • During his mission, Major Peake completed the first spacewalk by a UK astronaut and ran the London Marathon

  • He completed 2,976 orbits of Earth and covered a distance of roughly 125 million km

  • A Soyuz capsule carrying Major Peake, American Tim Kopra and Russian Yuri Malenchenko touched down in Kazakhstan at 10:15 BST on Saturday

  • Tim Peake described his journey back to Earth as "the best ride I've been on ever"

  1. Pizza and cool beerpublished at 12:56 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Top of Tim's wish list. 

    Media caption,

    Peake returns to Earth: 'Best ride I've been on ever'

  2. What's next?published at 12:53 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Once all the medical checks are complete at the landing site, the crew are taken to Karagandy by helicopter. They should arrive there sometime between 14:30 and 15:00 BST.  

    There is expected then to be a short media conference, before Tim Kopra and Tim Peake board a Nasa Gulfstream. This will take them first to Norway, where the European astronaut will get off to change planes to go to Cologne in Germany. It is in Cologne that Esa has its astronaut centre.

    Tim Kopra will carry on to the States.

    We'll hope to get a few words with the crew in Karagandy.

  3. Picture feed from Nasapublished at 12:14 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    If you want to get more hi-res images from the landing, go to Nasa's Expedition 47 Flickr feed, external.

    Tim KopraImage source, NASA
    Image caption,

    Just fine now: Tim Kopra was said to be a little queasy on landing

  4. A Sky Full of Starspublished at 12:06 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Tim had his playlist for going into orbit and Coldplay were on it. Chris Martin and the band send their regards.

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  5. Congratulations from HMGpublished at 12:00 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

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  6. Orange flamepublished at 11:54 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    In this image taken from a helicopter, it is possible to see the flame of the retro-rockets that were fired just before impact to further slow the capsule. 

    TouchdownImage source, NASA
  7. The smile says it allpublished at 11:51 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Here's a nice one of Tim, taken as he was moved to the medical tent.

    Tim PeakeImage source, NASA
  8. What makes an Esa astronaut?published at 11:51 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Since The European Space Agency (Esa) was established in 1975, 28 astronauts have been recruited by the agency. Fifteen of them are still active today.

    How did Tim Peake become an astronaut?

    Infographic
  9. Thud! The moment of touchdownpublished at 11:36 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    This is the view the chasing helicopters had of the moment the Soyuz hit the ground. As we reported earlier, the wind caught the large chute after the landing and pulled the capsule over on to its side. Yuri Malenchenko told the recovery teams that there was nothing unusual about the touchdown - neither harder, nor softer than what he had experienced before.

    TouchdownImage source, NASA
  10. The new realitypublished at 11:28 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    So, what does Tim Peake face in the weeks ahead? For a start, he's got to train his brain to understand that things have weight again. They don't just hang in space anymore. A lot more effort is required to move things.

    It's a physical and a psychological challenge, according to French astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy.

    Clervoy - who flew in space three times in the 1990s - told BBC News: "You feel very, very heavy... It takes about a month to feel back to normal."

    Media caption,

    Tim Peake faces physical and mental challenges after landing, says a fellow astronaut.

  11. "The best ride, ever"published at 11:23 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    That's how Tim Peake described the descent from orbit.

    CapsuleImage source, NASA
    Image caption,

    Hi-res images are now coming back from the landing site

  12. For the albumpublished at 11:17 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Expedition 47 back on Earth

    Peake, Malenchenko and Kopra on a warm afternoon on the SteppeImage source, NASA
  13. Goodbye, hellopublished at 11:10 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Major Peake, Colonel Kopra and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko leave behind three astronauts on the space station: American Jeff Williams and Russians Aleksey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.

    The next launch to complete what is called Expedition 48 is set for 7 July. A Soyuz will take up Russian cosmonaut Anatoli Ivanishin, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Kate Rubins of the US.

  14. Congratulations Tim...published at 11:05 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    ...from all here at the BBC.

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  15. A little charredpublished at 11:01 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    The capsule shows the effects of the high-temperature re-entry.

    SoyuzImage source, NASA
  16. Close to bulls-eyepublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Russian officials report the capsule touched down about 8km from the targeted site.  

  17. 'Hale and hearty'published at 10:53 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    All three crew members are looking remarkably relaxed after the landing. They're undergoing routine medical checks before boarding three separate helicopters to be flown to Karagandy Airport.

    Tim Peake at the landing siteImage source, ESA
  18. The other "passengers"published at 10:53 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Tim has brought back some experiments with him today. 

    Under his seat were microorganisms and organic molecules that have been sitting on the outside the ISS. The Open University team behind the study wants to know whether microorganisms are able to survive the extreme conditions of outer space   

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  19. First things firstpublished at 10:50 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Tim Kopra calls the family before being taken to the medical tent.

    KopraImage source, NASA
  20. Cool customerpublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 18 June 2016

    Yuri Malenchenko has done it all before. He is now the second most experienced spaceman in history, having spent more than 800 days in orbit over several flights. 

    Only Gennady Padalka has spent more time in space, at 878 days.

    Yuri MalenchenkoImage source, NASA