Space Spectacular Blue Peter

Today's Blue Peter is all about space,

so I've come up to the cosmos for a bit of peace and quiet.

Radzi, really? That's not even believable!

Linds, you're right. It really is calm up here.

-Wait, Radz, if you're here...

-Yeah?

..then who's that?

-Aargh!

-Run!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-BOTH:

-Hello.

Welcome to this live Blue Peter space spectacular,

with so much intergalactic goodness, you won't believe it.

Nicely said. Check this out - there is so much

coming up on today's show!

There I am in slow-mo,

about to take on an incredible Blue Peter space challenge.

Tim Peake will be landing to Earth very, very soon,

so to tell us about his out-of-this-world adventure

is space expert Libby Jackson.

As well as that, we are joined by another friend in the studio.

Kelvin Jones is going to be here

with a brilliant starry-eyed performance.

And we are live, so we want to hear from you.

I've got a question for you - if you could blast off into space

and only take one thing, what would it be and why?

-And why?

-Jump onto the Blue Peter...

-You forgot! And why?

-We'll go again.

-BOTH:

-And why?

Jump onto the Blue Peter website, leave a comment

and we'll read as many as we can.

However, I also want to talk about this young lady.

-Where did she come from?

-My back is where she came from. Shelley.

Where's she? She ain't here any more. You've got to find her.

-You got to find her.

-Jump on the fan club to let us know.

Speaking of Shelley, have a look at this little 3D Shelley.

You may remember that last week you chose to send her into space.

-That actual one?

-You can hold her. She's been into space.

Touch her. How amazing is that?

So, we are so excited by that, that the moment is here.

Leah from Newsround went to see

where she landed on her incredible journey.

I'm in Sheffield today and we're about to do something amazing.

We're going to send Shelley into space and film it,

and these guys are going to help us do it.

Meet Alex and Chris,

experts at sending special weather balloons into space.

And this one is unique because Shelley will be hitching a ride!

First, they fill the balloon with a gas called helium,

the very same gas that's used in party balloons to make them rise.

Next, they set up a special camera rig,

so that we can join Shelley for her epic journey.

And when the balloon is inflated, it's time to launch.

Three, two, one.

Go into space, Shelley!

And there she goes!

As soon as Shelley takes to the skies,

Leah and the team hit the road to track her, using GPS technology.

How fast will Shelley be moving?

At the moment, maybe up to, you know, 80 to 100mph.

But as well as going up, she's also drifting east.

We are currently over here, so she's travelled all the way over to there.

How many miles would that have been?

-I don't know, about 20, 30 miles, maybe?

-That's incredible.

The only thing is, if she drifts too far,

she could end up landing in the sea.

After one hour in the air, Shelley is now at the same height

as a jet plane flies, and she just keeps on going.

Yeah, so she's currently at a height of 18.5km.

And finally, she's so high up,

she's no longer in the Earth's atmosphere.

So, guys, this is incredible. Shelley is officially in space.

She's made it. This is absolutely brilliant.

Shelley eventually reaches over 28,000 metres high.

Only Tim Peake and the five other astronauts

aboard the International Space Station are above her!

But as Shelley climbs higher,

the change in pressure causes her weather balloon to burst.

And she begins her journey back to Earth, reaching over 200mph.

The race is really on for Leah and the team

to get to Shelley's landing site in time.

Oh, look!

There's just the small matter of surviving the landing.

There we go. Shelley's in one piece.

So that's how our Shelley went to space and back in just one day.

And let's not forget, it's all thanks to you!

I just think that is one of the coolest things

ever on Blue Peter, to send little 3D Shelley into space.

It's so amazing! But here on Blue Peter,

we're not the only ones to send something into space,

because our fellow musician has sent this, a TV set,

actually into space, for one of his latest videos.

He's the coolest guy ever. Please welcome Kelvin Jones!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I like that - clapping yourself. Kelvin, welcome to Blue Peter.

-Thanks.

-Well done on getting the badge.

Now, your video for Call You Home - I mean, that was epic.

Tell us a little bit about it.

I came up with this crazy idea of sending an actual TV

-into actual space and somehow we did it.

-And it just looks amazing.

-It got three million views online, didn't it, which is awesome.

-Yeah.

You've been really busy.

You been touring - European tour with James Morrison, who we love.

-I bet that was brilliant.

-Insane good fun. Insane good fun.

-So what's next for you?

-I'm going to be doing the smaller thing,

playing in people's living rooms. I'm going to do a living room tour.

-That sounds amazing.

-Crazy.

Well, you can perform here for us later to start off that tour, maybe.

-Tell us what you're performing.

-My song called Call You Home.

Oh, we cannot wait for that.

Now, as it's Space Week, we've got a little treat,

so do you want to walk this way with me? Cue the music.

-MUSIC: Rocket Man by Elton John

-Nice.

Having a bit of a laugh there, and that's because, six weeks ago,

we planted these rocket seeds as part

of the Royal Horticultural Society's big space experiment.

Now, some of these have been into space with Tim Peake. Some haven't.

-We don't...

-Which ones?

-I knew you were going to ask that!

We don't know which are which but some of them

-are getting on better than others.

-That one's been to space.

-You reckon? You think red?

-That's been to space.

That one's been to space. That one specifically.

-I've got a nose for it.

-You've got a good feeling about this rocket!

Well, if your performance is good later, you can have a taste, maybe.

Thanks, yeah. Maybe not.

OK, you go over there and prep for your performance.

Cannot wait for that.

And speaking of space experiments,

Tim Peake has been doing loads recently and, to find out why

they are so important, I went on a very special Blue Peter challenge.

For almost six months, British astronaut Tim Peake

has called the International Space Station home.

And Blue Peter has been with him every step of the way,

from Troy's winning mission patch...

Oh, wow! That's amazing!

..to catching up with Tim's adventures.

Hello, Barney, and hi to Blue Peter.

When he's not talking to us, he's been doing

loads of experiments to see how living in space affects his body.

So to experience what life is like for Tim,

I'm going to need to spend some time in space.

The problem is,

I'm struggling to find the International Space Station.

And cut!

It's not really working, is it? No.

OK, I can't go into space but there is a way of experiencing

a big part of it without even leaving the Earth's atmosphere.

To do it, I've had to travel to France,

because this special plane can recreate weightlessness.

We've all seen Tim and other astronauts floating in space

but what causes this to happen?

Well, it's all to do with falling.

Here comes the science.

The Earth's gravity pulls everything towards its surface,

including the International Space Station.

But, because the space station is travelling

so fast around our planet, its fall matches the curve of the Earth -

and that's what stops it dropping to the ground.

Just like the space station, the astronauts inside are falling

at the same speed, and this makes everything appear to float.

And that's where this plane comes in.

It's going to perform a series of steep climbs and descents.

Every time the plane goes over the peak of the curve, everyone

and everything on board will start to float, just like Tim does.

From the outside, it looks like any other plane.

Just like on the inside -

until you realise that the other half of the plane

is a massive padded room and it's through there

that I'll get to experience weightlessness.

I am so excited!

But before I get to fly, there's some important work to do.

Weightlessness can cause big changes to astronauts and their kit,

so this plane is used to find out how space affects them.

So I'm going to be joined by this group of scientists,

who are all busy preparing all the experiments

that they need to take up and test during the flight.

Ulric's team are the only ones on board who are going to be

conducting a test on the human body during the flight.

We are doing an experiment on the heart,

because the heart and the vessels

do not work the same way in space as they do on ground.

Christina's team are testing a new robot.

It will take the soil from an asteroid

and keep it into a canister,

so scientists can bring the canister back to Earth to study it.

With the experiments prepped, it's time for me to get ready.

Before we take off, there's one final thing left to do,

because this isn't going to be like any other flight.

Some people call it the Vomit Comet and that's because I think

it can make you pretty sick, so I've come to visit the medical team.

They've got a little injection to put in my arm

and hopefully that will mean I won't throw up.

Wish me luck!

Ooh!

When you become a Blue Peter presenter, these are the days,

these are the moments, that you actually dream about.

This is what it's all about, because very soon I'm about to feel

exactly what Tim Peake feels when he's up there in space.

It's so special, and I cannot wait!

Part two of that will be later on in the show

and you do not want to miss that, so keep watching.

So we know that Tim Peake's been in space for six months

and we know he's returning on June the 18th,

but how's he going to do that?

Well, to answer that question,

would you please welcome to Blue Peter space expert Libby Jackson!

-Libby, welcome to Blue Peter.

-Thank you very much.

I'm very excited, because you've actually worked with

Tim Peake since 2009, when he first got selected to be an astronaut.

You saw him take off. How were you feeling?

It was a really emotional day.

It was wonderful to see him go up and it's been wonderful

to see him in space, inspiring so many kids throughout his mission.

And in terms of the steps he'll take to come back to Earth,

what will he go through?

The first thing he'll do, he'll hug and say goodbye

to the three crewmates who are staying up there.

He'll get into the Soyuz spacecraft - that's the capsule

that's going to bring him home. We can see them doing that.

Then he'll put on his Sokol spacesuit,

which is the spacesuit to protect him on his way back.

The spacecraft's going to drift away from the space station

and then it takes about 3½ hours to get home.

So we can see it starting... Only 3½ hours?

3½ hours is a pretty quick journey.

That really is unbe... Is it dangerous?

Well, of course it is, because we're in space and in space,

there's no atmosphere, so that journey back...

He's going to be in the capsule.

If that were to suddenly depressurise and he found

-himself in no air, couldn't breathe, had some problems...

-Wow!

We've got marshmallows, to show you what might happen.

Before we talk about the marshmallows,

we've got our very own Blue Peter spaceman.

Bjorn, in you come, my friend.

Coming in slow motion, cos he's currently walking in the moon.

-This is a genuine space outfit?

-This is a genuine space outfit.

It's the Sokol suit. This is what Tim will wear when he comes home,

to make sure that if there were any problems, he'd be kept safe.

Amazing. Bjorn, thank you. Can you spacewalk off?

-Give this man a round of applause!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And I guess this is where the marshmallow man comes in?

-Yes, indeed.

-So earlier on, we had an experiment where we decompress -

-is that right? - or depressurised marshmallow man.

-We did.

We basically put him in this pressure chamber,

we sucked all the air out and we saw what would happen, and that's

a little bit like what would happen if Tim were to have some problems.

-OK, that looks like a big problem.

-It is.

Now, we're not made of marshmallows, fortunately,

so we wouldn't expand like that, but we would not be able to breathe.

All the gases in our blood would start to boil.

It wouldn't be a good day

and that's why we've got Tim wearing a spacesuit.

We've got lots of people making sure everything is as safe

as it can be and hopefully, he'll get home in one piece.

-Absolutely, he will.

-Yes.

-Now, going back to the journey...

-Absolutely.

It's now left the space station - what happens next?

So, just before they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere,

their spacecraft splits into three pieces,

so there's a bit in the middle, which we can see here.

That's where Tim and his crew are going to be sitting,

in this middle part. The other bits were only needed in space.

So this part is what plunges back through the atmosphere.

At the moment, they're going at 17,500 mph,

28,000kph.

-No!

-That's 30 times the speed of a jumbo jet.

-That's unbelievable!

They'll de-orbit, they'll fire their thruster to slow down,

they'll re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, and as they do that,

they slam into all these hot gases

and the spacecraft heats up. It gets to 2,000 Celsius.

-2,000 degrees Celsius?

-So the spacecraft's really clever.

To make sure that they don't burn up, they don't get into problems,

it's got all these layers, and they fall off one by one.

Keeps the spacecraft cool.

Once it's burst through the atmosphere,

then they're back into Earth's atmosphere.

The parachutes open and they gently descend back to Earth.

Look at that ex... Look at that crash, though. Is that a...

Whoa! What's going on there?

That's not an explosion.

That's actually some thrusters, some rocket engines, firing,

one second before they land, to slow the descent even more,

to try and make it as gentle as possible.

So when you say one second, how far is that?

It's about 70 centimetres before the spacecraft hits the ground,

the rocket engines fire.

-So that much before the they hit the Earth's surface?

-Indeed.

-Wow!

But even with those rocket engines, even with all that,

it's still a real thud and the astronauts describe it

as being a bit like in a small car crash.

I don't really fancy that any more!

When you've been in space for six months, you're weak.

Your first taste of gravity is like that slam.

-It's quite a rollercoaster ride.

-OK. And so in terms of getting...

-Could he just get out and walk around?

-We hope he can.

He's been training every day for two hours a day to make sure

his bones and muscles are as strong as they can be.

That's him doing the London Marathon.

That's him doing the marathon.

But even with that, he's still weaker. But we'll see him...

When he comes back to Earth, we'll see him carried out of that capsule.

That's not necessarily because he's weak,

it's because it's a sign of honour and the Russians...

He's flying in a Russian spacecraft.

It's their tradition that they help the spacecraft...

The space crew out of the capsule, put them in seats,

so we'll see him carried out. It's a sign of honour and tradition.

It'll be an absolute privilege to see that.

Somebody who knows just how that feels is

somebody who's a part of the UK Space Agency,

the first-ever British astronaut in space, Helen Sharman.

Can you hear us at all, Helen?

I'm here, listening to everything that's happening. Great to hear you!

Well, likewise and, Helen, obviously,

Tim's following in your footsteps.

-How awesome was it to see him take off?

-Oh, a fabulous day, wasn't it?

I mean, for 25 years, since my space flight, we've been waiting.

I think many people...

We've all been waiting for another British astronaut.

So finally, we've got one - better late than never -

and he's doing a fantastic job.

How is it different to the mission that you did,

as you say, 25 years ago?

Well, the whole set-up was different.

Mine was an agreement between Britain and the Soviet Union,

or Russia now. Tim is a European Space Agency astronaut,

but he still flew on a Soyuz rocket, like I did, and he's landing

in a Soyuz spacecraft, so very similar to the way that I landed.

We've been talking to Libby about what it's going to feel like

entering the Earth's atmosphere again.

You've done it. What does that feel like?

It is actually physically harder than the launch.

So we have 5.5G coming back to Earth.

We only have 3.5 going up into space,

so the astronauts will feel really heavy.

You're pushed back into your seat.

Even lifting up your arm is incredibly difficult to do that,

because your arm weighs, you know,

5.5 times as much as it does normally on Earth, so compared

to feeling weightless, it's an incredibly strenuous exercise to do.

It doesn't last very long and, as Libby's saying,

when you actually hit the ground, that is a really...

A bit of a bang and a bump,

and of all the accidents that happen to astronauts, that's the one

where we tend to get a bit more battered and bruised a little bit.

Helen, thank you so much for your time.

I imagine it was a completely life-changing experience.

Lovely to talk to you.

Libby, also, what an absolute privilege it's been to talk

-to yourself.

-Pleasure.

Can I go one extra step? We've got some space posters to show you -

-do you want to come and see them?

-I'd love to.

-Let's walk and talk.

Come on over, guys, because this week's Big Badge Wall

is looking quite literally out of this world.

The colours, the shapes are amazing.

This one is brilliant. It's from Josh, who is 11, from West Sussex.

It's a nice little pic of Tim Peake. I think quite lifelike, Libby.

-Very lifelike. He's looking very handsome.

-I think it's good.

And, of course, the amazing Principia badge there.

You've earned yourself a blue badge. Well done, Josh.

Now, Wilf from Manchester sent in this awesome rocket.

-Libby, do you like it?

-I love it. It's brilliant!

It's got a name on the front there.

Down the bottom, we've got all the fire and flames coming out.

It looks like something I think I'd be happy to go into space on.

-It's huge!

-Enormous!

-Impressive, isn't it?

Thanks to every one of you who sent in post on the Big Badge Wall.

You got yourselves a BP badge, my friends.

Now, it is the half-term holiday soon - I'm excited, I know you are -

and if you've got a Blue Peter badge, you'll be excited to know

you can get into over 200 attractions across the UK, Radz...

# For free! #

Which is exciting. But those attractions can change sometimes,

so make sure you grab a grown-up and just check all the details

on our website, cos you want to have a good half-term, right?

Also, a massive thank you to everyone who entered

the Dream Big competition.

Check this out - 8,420 of you have applied.

-Amazing.

-However, the closing date has now passed,

so please do not enter any more.

But we will be announcing the winner shortly.

Also, speaking of half term,

if you want to have some fun on the computer, you can go online

because there's a nice little space quiz there.

You can test which planet you are the most like.

It's going to be good fun. Speaking of fun,

now on to something amazing because earlier,

you saw me prepare for my space adventure,

but this is what happened the actual moment I experienced weightlessness.

I've travelled to France to experience something

I've only ever dreamed about - weightlessness.

This is as close as any human being can get

to feeling like Tim Peake without going into space.

Very few people get to do this,

so I'm incredibly lucky to have a ticket.

My heart is beating.

Seatbelt's on. No going back. This is it.

Aargh!

This special plane is going to climb steeply,

before dropping towards Earth.

It will happen around 30 times and every time it does,

everyone on board will experience weightlessness.

As soon as we're up in the air, we start to get into position

and lie down in the padded area of the plane.

You can feel the excitement in here.

I really don't know what to expect, but...

..this is just going to be amazing.

The time has arrived.

The scientists are ready and the plane begins its steep climb.

Oh, my heart! You would not believe how fast it's beating.

Oh, wow! Oh, I feel heavy.

'And then we start to drop.'

Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!

Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

I'm starting to float.

'I had no idea what to expect but this is utterly incredible!'

Whoa! I'm floating! Oh, my goodness!

What do I do?

This is the most ama...

I'm floating! This is the weirdest feeling!

Oh, wow!

That was the most bizarre feeling of my life.

'On my next go, I start to get the hang of it,

'with a bit of help from the team on board.'

Let's walk on the ceiling! Whoa! Look at this!

I'm walking on the ceiling.

Waargh! Should I do a flip?

SHE SCREAMS AND CHUCKLES

Oh, my goodness!

This is the most ridiculous feeling of my life!

Whoo!

OK, I'm going to try and swim.

'It's so fun, but it doesn't last forever.'

Oh, dear!

'Each period of weightlessness lasts around 25 seconds -

'just enough time for the scientists to carry out their experiments.

'Things seem to be going well for Ulric and his team,

'who are looking at what happens to the heart and blood vessels

'when someone is weightless.'

It's going really great, smooth.

-We get good images.

-So you're happy with all the results so far?

Yeah, we are happy so far.

'Christina's team, who are testing a robot that could

'land on an asteroid, are still getting the hang of the conditions.'

-Very strange doing science with weightlessness.

-Yeah, I bet!

-But are you having fun?

-A lot of fun.

-Ooh, you're going over there!

-You have no choice where you go, do you?

-I'm sorry!

'It will take a few weeks until the scientists get the results back.

'In the meantime, I've got some very important, er,

'highly scientific experiments to do.

'First up, floating the badge.'

Waargh!

'Tying my shoelaces...'

I've got to try and put it on. I haven't got long to do it.

I've got the shoe on. Now I've got to do my laces!

How does Tim Peake do this?!

I can't do my laces!

'How about floating on a magic carpet?'

SHE GIGGLES

Whoo!

'Aladdin made this look really easy!

'And what about brushing my hair?

'That's my scientific experiments almost done,

'but there's one last thing I've always wanted to try.'

I'm flying! I'm a superhero!

SHE CHUCKLES

Do you know what? That was just the most incredible experience

I think I've ever had in my life.

And to think that I got to see what it's like for Tim Peake

to live, work and do everything that he does up in space is phenomenal.

I want to go again!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I actually want to do that every day.

That was the funnest day of my life. It was incredible.

-I wish I could've taken you, Radz.

-I want to go there!

-It was so good.

And just to make today even better, Tim Peake's been in touch -

cos, you know, he does, with Blue Peter -

and he sent us this little photo earlier.

It's the Blue Peter badge in space - how cool is that?

I've just spoken to Libby,

who says she's going to send this episode of Blue Peter up to Tim

-so, Tim, sir, it's been an honour.

-Enjoy.

-Legend!

-Enjoy.

Let's do the comments for Tim.

We've been asking you, what one item would you take up into space?

And SapphireHockeyColley - good name! - says,

"I would take Iggy, cos Shelley's been to space but Iggy hasn't."

-Nice.

-Good point.

-Share it about.

-Maybe a 3D Iggy.

PlumCycloneSeal Says, "I would take an alien dictionary,

"so I could understand and interpret their language".

-I love the way that you think!

-We have the best fans!

NavyBlueSpikyCow says, "I would take a never-ending vending machine,

"so I'd never run out of snacks." I like that one! Very good!

PurpleBrainyMosquito - you think logically!

"A manual on how to survive in space." Of course, a manual!

-Radz, have you sent in this one?

-No.

It says IndigoCheerfulHawk, but I think it might be you.

"I'd take my bed, cos it would be really weird to sleep in space."

-I like napping, people.

-He does!

"I'd take my guitar so I could hear

"the difference of me playing in space."

We'll have to ask Libby what that sounds like.

Not that she's done it. Now, if you've been watching carefully

and been on the fan club, you'll know that we've been playing

Spot Shelley and the winner of that was GoldJokeyPrimrose,

so well done. Round of applause for you.

APPLAUSE

You can see it there, just...

-Ooh, she was sneaky this week, wasn't she?

-Very sneaky.

Anyway, just time to tell you what's coming up in next week's show.

It is going to be a green badge spesh!

We're going to be in the Blue Peter garden and there you can see George

is going to be giving the veg patch a little bit of a makeover.

He's awesome!

We'll also be talking to BBC Two's Springwatch -

Martin, Michaela and Chris.

And we've got some exciting green badge news, so make sure you watch.

Now, without any more applause or excitement,

it's the legend, Kelvin Jones.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# You got those eyes, stare into my soul

# You get that smile when I'm giving you my all

# You're the brighter side of things You're the lighter side of life

# And all the joy that you bring Is why I need you in my life

# But can I call you home?

# You'll be mine and I'll be yours

# I just wanna let you know

# In my mind, I call you home

# In my mind, I call you home

# The only thing I ever knew is that I never know

# I've had my time in the sun and now I gotta go

# You're the brighter side of things You're the lighter side of life

# And all the joy that you bring Is why I need you in my life

# But can I call you home?

# You'll be mine and I'll be yours

# I just wanna let you know

# In my mind, I call you home

# In my mind

# In my mind

# In my mind

# In my mind

# But can I call you home?

# You'll be mine and I'll be yours

# Oh, I just wanna let you know

# In my mind, I call you home

# And now can I call you home?

# You'll be mine and I'll be yours

# I just wanna let you know

# In my mind, I call you home

# In my mind, I call you home

# In my mind, I call you home. #

CHEERING

Mesmerising!