British astronaut Tim Peake recently revealed that he wished to join an all-British crew on the International Space Station (ISS).
In an exclusive interview by Sky News's children's news show FYI, Peake hoped to become one of four British persons launching aboard a SpaceX Dragon for a future Axiom Space mission later this year.
"Possibly as early as next year, we're taking four astronauts back [to the ISS] to do lots of science and lots of education outreach," he said. "We're hoping to announce the whole crew in June this year."
Asked if he would be part of the mission, Peake told Sky News he hoped so.
Peake announced his decision to retire from being a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut in January last year.
The UK Space Agency signed an agreement with Axiom Space in October, which could lead to the first all-British commercially-sponsored mission to space, sponsored by ESA.
If it passes, four British astronauts will spend two weeks in orbit aboard the ISS to carry out research, and British universities have been asked to share ideas for experiments that could be carried out in space during that time.
Axiom has since launched three missions to the ISS, with former NASA astronauts Michael López-Alegría and Peggy Whitson commanding as the company's professional astronauts. If Peake is included in the all-British Axiom mission, he is expected to command it.
