Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to walk on board the International Space Station (ISS), touched down in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, on Friday. He opened a new scout hut while on the visit. Approximately 50 scouts ranging in age from four to 14 from the Fifth Neighbours East Scout group attended the event. At the event they praised the community’s fantastic fundraising efforts that raised more than £850,000 for the new centre.
Peake, 53, who comes from Chichester, said he was thankful to the Chichester community for their loyalty and support. He based his realization on his own experiences as a scout. It was the skills he learned growing up — things like resilience and teamwork — that carried him through his six-month mission to space in 2015 and 2016. His time as administrator saw the first Briton go into space and conduct the first British spacewalk.
“It was really important to get involved with the guys because that’s where my journey started, you know, getting exposed to the great outdoors, meeting other people,” Peake stated during the opening ceremony. He vividly remembered his very first scout badge, for first aid, and how terribly useful that badge was in space.
On his mission aboard the ISS, Peake enjoyed some one-of-a-kind culinary adventures. He enjoyed local fare such as bangers and mash and chicken curry. In fact, he joked that a common occurrence during tethered spacewalks was seeing batteries and scissors and other tools go flying by him.
The reopening of the scout hut was a landmark transformation for the local community. Mark Schofield, a member of the scout delegation, thanked Peake for making time to be at the event. “We made an extra effort for Tim just because we’re so grateful for him to be here,” Schofield remarked.
Adventure is out there, Communication and collaboration were key in the BSA processes, as they are in successful space missions, Peake noted. “All those skills that are so important in everybody’s life about how you get on with other people, how you build teams, how you communicate together, work together, make decisions… that’s what scouts does,” he said.
As he pulled up to the new scout hut, Peake had the young scouts keeping him dancing on air with joy. He quipped that if he was a better master of ceremonies, he wouldn’t have forgotten to bring scissors to the car for the ribbon-cutting. That anecdote went a long way toward framing his journey, from young scout to storied astronaut.