15/12/2015

:00:00. > :00:08.It's 9.15. I'm Victoria Derbyshire.

:00:09. > :00:28.British astronaut Tim Peake is preparing to blast off

:00:29. > :00:41.He'll spend six months in space carrying out scientific experiments

:00:42. > :00:56.When you see the Earth, it's a sensation that's incredibly hard to

:00:57. > :01:03.grasp and quite emotional. It is really very impactful to see the

:01:04. > :01:06.place where the entire human history has occurred below you, looking

:01:07. > :01:08.quite a lot like it does on maps and globes but actually being real.

:01:09. > :01:11.We'll be counting down to the launch at exactly 11.03

:01:12. > :01:37.In one hour and 46 minutes, the British astronaut Tim Peake,

:01:38. > :01:39.a former army helicopter pilot from Chichester,

:01:40. > :01:43.will blast off from earth in a rocket, headed into space.

:01:44. > :01:51.You will be able to watch the launch life here on the BBC at 1103. This

:01:52. > :01:59.is the scene live, lots of relatives... Oh dear, that's a bit

:02:00. > :02:01.of a wonky camera shot. Lots of relatives of the three astronauts

:02:02. > :02:06.going into space and lots of journalists there at the moment. He

:02:07. > :02:09.will make history as the first official British astronaut to live

:02:10. > :02:16.and work on the International Space Station and the first official

:02:17. > :02:25.British astronaut in space for over 20 years. This moment is a rare

:02:26. > :02:26.moment in history. Since Neil Armstrong became the first man on

:02:27. > :02:58.the moon in 1969. The Eagle has landed. One small step

:02:59. > :03:05.for man, one giant leap for mankind. Sometimes it's important to do a bit

:03:06. > :03:12.for yourself at the end. Looking at the stars is just magical. I'm soon

:03:13. > :03:17.to take over as the new space station Commander. Collaboration

:03:18. > :03:25.between any group and countries is far more profitable for everybody

:03:26. > :03:32.than reservation and competition and being antagonistic. Go ahead, Mr

:03:33. > :03:37.President. This is Houston. Hello, I'm talking to you by telephone from

:03:38. > :03:43.the Oval room at the White House. I just can't tell you how proud we all

:03:44. > :03:45.are of what you have achieved, for every American, this has to be the

:03:46. > :03:52.proudest day of our lives because of what you have done. The heavens have

:03:53. > :03:58.become a part of man's world. For one priceless moment, in the whole

:03:59. > :04:07.history of man, all the people of this earth are truly one. Thank you,

:04:08. > :04:13.Mr President. It's a great honour and privilege for us to be here

:04:14. > :04:21.representing not only the United States, that all nations and those

:04:22. > :04:27.with interest and curiosity and with a vision for the future. The

:04:28. > :04:32.International Space Station orbits 250 miles above the Earth. Tim Peake

:04:33. > :04:36.is due to spend the next six months on board when the carry out a series

:04:37. > :04:37.of scientific and medical experiments.

:04:38. > :04:40.Tim Peake only became an astronaut in 2009 after being chosen

:04:41. > :04:43.by the European Space Agency from 8,000 candidates.

:04:44. > :04:48.Pretty proud to be the first Brit going to the Space Station.

:04:49. > :04:51.I got into aviation at an early age and I was really focused on that

:04:52. > :04:55.and passionate about it, but I never imagined at all I'd be

:04:56. > :04:57.here weeks away from a launch in space.

:04:58. > :05:01.I decided to be an Army helicopter pilot, had a career for 18 years

:05:02. > :05:13.Have you been preparing a David Bowie cover?

:05:14. > :05:16.We've seen astronauts give us songs, give us dances.

:05:17. > :05:19.What have you got up your sleeve, Tim?

:05:20. > :05:22.I'm not going to be playing the guitar and singing,

:05:23. > :05:26.I ended up being a helicopter instructor and then a test pilot,

:05:27. > :05:30.and then working for AgustaWestland as a test pilot, as well.

:05:31. > :05:33.I saw the advert and realised that I was at the right age,

:05:34. > :05:35.I had the qualifications the agency was looking for.

:05:36. > :05:40.It was too good an opportunity not to apply.

:05:41. > :05:44.To be selected to be an astronaut for myself is absolutely

:05:45. > :05:54.Six month's deployment is not that long.

:05:55. > :05:57.I know it sounds like a long time, but it's something that many

:05:58. > :06:04.Tim Peake says the best advice he's been given so far is to "look out

:06:05. > :06:10.Fewer than 600 people have seen that view - of Earth from space.

:06:11. > :06:13.Former astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria talks us

:06:14. > :06:22.When you see the Earth, it's a sensation that is incredibly

:06:23. > :06:29.It's really very impactful to see the place where the entirety

:06:30. > :06:34.of human history has occurred below you, looking a lot like it does

:06:35. > :06:38.on maps and globes but actually being real.

:06:39. > :06:42.But there is a sense of the enormity of the Earth and the population

:06:43. > :06:52.of humanity, compared to the seven or how ever many of us are onboard

:06:53. > :06:55.You can absolutely see effects of human presence on the planet.

:06:56. > :07:05.Because if pollution, contamination by a different hue

:07:06. > :07:09.From my first flight in 1995 to my last in 2007,

:07:10. > :07:12.a lot of bodies of water have noticeably become smaller.

:07:13. > :07:14.I think it gives you a greater awareness of the fragility

:07:15. > :07:18.of the planet and the ecosystem and gives you a better sense of how

:07:19. > :07:25.Tim Peake is taking off from Russia's cosmodrone

:07:26. > :07:29.in Kazakhstan with a NASA astronaut, Tim Kopra,

:07:30. > :07:33.and Russian Commander Yuri Malenchenko.

:07:34. > :07:34.They're all onboard the Soyez rocket, awaiting take-off.

:07:35. > :07:37.A man who knows that feeling well is Gregory Olsen,

:07:38. > :07:40.an American entrepreneur who paid for his own trip

:07:41. > :07:44.to the International Space Station ten years ago, it cost him around

:07:45. > :08:00.Hello. How do you think Tim Peake will be feeling right now? One hour

:08:01. > :08:05.and a bit to go before take-off? If he's like me, you'll be anxious and

:08:06. > :08:12.ready to go. It's something you work very hard for. I worked for over

:08:13. > :08:16.seven months. He put in much more time and now it's the fruition of

:08:17. > :08:23.all his labours, so he's going to be excited and ready to go. You were

:08:24. > :08:27.only slightly anxious? Yes, I had a medical disqualification so I was

:08:28. > :08:34.out of the programme and, rather than being afraid, to me, this was,

:08:35. > :08:39.yeah, I'm finally going and the next ten days belong to me and no one

:08:40. > :08:47.else. What was the training like? A typical day, up at 6am, eat

:08:48. > :08:54.breakfast, I would start with a run. Classes, 9-4. Emergency procedures

:08:55. > :08:58.in my case. Physical training. Dinner, homework. Like being a

:08:59. > :09:04.college student. You make it sound so easy, actually. It's under ten

:09:05. > :09:08.minutes to reach orbit and then about six hours or so to get to the

:09:09. > :09:15.International Space Station. What did take off the like? Saying it's a

:09:16. > :09:23.blast would be too obvious, but it was. The vehicle began to rumble and

:09:24. > :09:28.all of a sudden I slowly felt myself being pushed back in my seat harder

:09:29. > :09:32.and harder. We could not see anything outside because we had a

:09:33. > :09:37.shroud around us. About 50 miles above the Earth, an explosion and

:09:38. > :09:42.the shroud blew away and all I saw was this big sphere slowly receding

:09:43. > :09:51.in the distance. Stay there, Gregory. I'm going to bring in Libby

:09:52. > :09:55.Jackson from the UK space agency. How excited are you? Hugely excited,

:09:56. > :10:00.an amazing day for Britain. As someone who's always enjoyed working

:10:01. > :10:04.in this industry, I've been dreaming of this day since a child. Why is

:10:05. > :10:11.this so significant for this country? It shows that the UK is

:10:12. > :10:14.serious about space. We've only recently joined the International

:10:15. > :10:20.Space Station programme, publishing the National space policy on Sunday.

:10:21. > :10:23.The UK space industry is a hugely unsung hero, worth over 11 million

:10:24. > :10:28.to the UK economy at the moment and that figure is growing. By bringing

:10:29. > :10:32.Tim Peake today space station it's an inspirational thing. It will get

:10:33. > :10:35.children involved, excited about science, and we need them, not just

:10:36. > :10:43.for the space centre but for everything in the UK. You have been

:10:44. > :10:48.involved in the preparations in his preparations. Tell us what they have

:10:49. > :10:54.involved. Yes, I've been working in the human space flight visit with

:10:55. > :10:57.Tim since he was selected. He's been training since 2013 when his flight

:10:58. > :11:01.was announced and gone through all sorts of simulations to prepare for

:11:02. > :11:05.this moment. Right now, here's strapped into the Soyez in his space

:11:06. > :11:10.suit, going through his last couple of hours, focusing on the mission

:11:11. > :11:19.ahead. In terms of the training, he spent time living in caves,

:11:20. > :11:22.underwater. Yes, he's been doing all sorts of things for the Cave

:11:23. > :11:27.training and going underwater, both of those prepare him for living away

:11:28. > :11:31.from somewhere where it's not easy to get home. When he was working on

:11:32. > :11:35.the floor of the sea bed of Florida, they will admit how an asteroid

:11:36. > :11:40.mission might work. He has done training in, it where it you have to

:11:41. > :11:45.get used to feeling weightless and he has been doing lots of training

:11:46. > :11:52.in a big swimming pool. This has been getting him ready for a

:11:53. > :11:55.spacewalk. OK. As close to weightlessness as possible but

:11:56. > :11:59.obviously it can't absolutely replicate that on Earth. In terms of

:12:00. > :12:03.the scientific side of this, what kind of experiments will he and his

:12:04. > :12:08.colleagues be doing in the next six months? They will be doing over 200

:12:09. > :12:15.experiments on a space station while he's there. Over 30 are space agency

:12:16. > :12:18.experiments, ranging from all sorts of things. A lot of them and medical

:12:19. > :12:23.experiments looking at the effects of human body when Tim is

:12:24. > :12:29.weightless. We have got things that lipid material sciences, how allies

:12:30. > :12:31.working space, how plants grow, things like protein crystals,

:12:32. > :12:37.experiments on the outside of the space station, there are so many

:12:38. > :12:40.different aspects up there and it's a unique laboratory. You can't do

:12:41. > :12:44.these experiments on Earth. By taking gravity out of the equation,

:12:45. > :12:49.we can understand how these things work better and all benefits as back

:12:50. > :12:53.here on Earth. Explain how it can benefit us because we don't have

:12:54. > :12:59.weightlessness down here, so how can you apply what they discover 250

:13:00. > :13:05.miles above Earth to our lives here? For example, when astronauts go into

:13:06. > :13:10.space, your bones dissolve back into your body and that's very similar to

:13:11. > :13:14.osteoporosis. By understanding how we can counter those effects in

:13:15. > :13:18.space, we are learning much more about how bones cope here on Earth

:13:19. > :13:23.and not as direct impact to osteoporosis which, of course, fact

:13:24. > :13:28.many people as they get older. Let me go back to Gregory. The space

:13:29. > :13:35.station is as big as a football field, soccer field, you might call

:13:36. > :13:38.it. Enough space inside, the same as a large six bedroom detached house.

:13:39. > :13:43.Tell us more about the space station itself, Gregory. It is certainly

:13:44. > :13:51.longer than a football field for the not quite as wide. But compared to

:13:52. > :13:58.Soyez, which is very crowded, it is spacious. There's lots of room to

:13:59. > :14:07.manoeuvre around. After Soyez, you will feel liberated. What was the

:14:08. > :14:13.hardest thing to get used to? Probably, just not being able to put

:14:14. > :14:20.something down. What will happen is eventually it will just crawl away

:14:21. > :14:25.by weightlessness. I lost a camera up there, believe it or not. I had a

:14:26. > :14:32.digital pocket camera and I lost it, couldn't find it, after I left, Bill

:14:33. > :14:37.McArthur, an astronaut, founded and downloaded the photo to me. Tim

:14:38. > :14:46.Peake 's wife has been talking about their husbands mission. We're going

:14:47. > :14:50.to play it right now. I'm so happy to get to this point. We are really

:14:51. > :14:55.excited to get to the stage in the game and I know he is and he looks

:14:56. > :15:01.so ready for it. It's great. Thomas feels calm about it? Hugely

:15:02. > :15:09.laid-back about it. He knows exactly what's going on. He's just ready for

:15:10. > :15:15.lunch, I think. I buy, guys. -- bye-bye, guys. What you think the

:15:16. > :15:24.biggest surprise awaiting Tim Peake is? The weightlessness. Even though

:15:25. > :15:29.you train for it, when you are at equilibrium and you are weightless,

:15:30. > :15:34.it's like magic. And it's wonderful. I loved it and most people do.

:15:35. > :15:40.Libby, what are the risks were the mission like this? Anything goes

:15:41. > :15:46.wrong on the launch pad, there is a risk. Soyez has an escape rocket on

:15:47. > :15:51.top, so they have an extra level of security. But there are risks,

:15:52. > :15:59.always risks to things like that, but the Russian record is excellent.

:16:00. > :16:07.Libby Jackson, what would you say about the risks?

:16:08. > :16:17.Libby, what would you say about the risks? Everybody is working hard to

:16:18. > :16:20.reduce the risks. Whilst they are up in space the crew are very well

:16:21. > :16:26.trained to deal with any emergencies that might crop up, such as fire.

:16:27. > :16:31.The spacecraft they are launching today stays on the spacecraft with

:16:32. > :16:37.them as a lifeboat, so they could get back to birth in an emergency.

:16:38. > :16:41.Everybody is working really hard and we have procedures in place to make

:16:42. > :16:46.sure everything is very safe. I know that you are at the science Museum

:16:47. > :16:55.all morning, Libby Jackson. Also thank you to Gregory. There is major

:16:56. > :17:03.Tim Peake in his space suit. Hopefully they will pull out a bit,

:17:04. > :17:15.there is one of his colleagues. There is the Russian commander.

:17:16. > :17:20.Away, they look really calm. If he spent two and a half years training

:17:21. > :17:28.I bet he is thinking, come on, let's start. Major Tim Peake just taking a

:17:29. > :17:38.moment. There are his relatives. I am assuming they are just sitting in

:17:39. > :17:43.front of him. The Russian colleague is the commander and he sits in the

:17:44. > :17:49.middle on the Soyuz rocket. The American and the Brit are on either

:17:50. > :17:55.side of them. There are major Tim Peake's children with his wife

:17:56. > :18:00.Rebecca. Are they on consoles? I am hoping they are taking pictures of

:18:01. > :18:10.their dad, rather than playing on their PlayStation is! Let's see if

:18:11. > :18:21.we can listen in to their conversation.

:18:22. > :18:29.Relatives and journalists getting a last look at their loved ones before

:18:30. > :18:34.they are taken to the Soyuz rocket and before a blast off at three

:18:35. > :18:40.minutes past 11 which you will be able to watch live on BBC News. Do

:18:41. > :18:47.not go anywhere. You will be able to watch history in the making. Libby

:18:48. > :18:51.Jackson, I have to say major Tim Peake and his colleagues look

:18:52. > :18:54.unbelievably calm. Maybe after two and a half years of training you

:18:55. > :19:03.think, come on, let's get on with it. They will have run through this

:19:04. > :19:09.many times in training. They were at the launch six months ago and they

:19:10. > :19:14.have seen all of this. It is an astronaut's job to be prepared. They

:19:15. > :19:19.are very cool, calm and collected. You will have seen Tim waving to

:19:20. > :19:23.everybody before he gets into the spacecraft. They will be running

:19:24. > :19:28.through their checklists and focusing on the moment and be very

:19:29. > :19:34.calm, cool and collected. He is smiling away as his children take

:19:35. > :19:41.photographs of him. Major Tim Peake is waving and looking incredibly

:19:42. > :19:46.happy. It is just under an hour and a half until they blast off. All the

:19:47. > :19:47.build-up throughout the morning. All the build-up

:19:48. > :19:49.throughout the morning. For the latest live updates

:19:50. > :20:01.on the mission, head to: A couple of messages. Alan and Morag

:20:02. > :20:05.say, best wishes, we, the British public, are proud of you and your

:20:06. > :20:09.courage to travel to infinity and beyond.

:20:10. > :20:15.Kim texts is to say, ground control to Major Tim.

:20:16. > :20:21.I am envious, I remember watching the moon landings when I was young

:20:22. > :20:22.and I find this all amazing. I can barely contain myself, it is

:20:23. > :20:24.I can barely contain myself, it is awesome.

:20:25. > :20:27.We'll keep a close eye on the countdown to the Soyuz rocket

:20:28. > :20:31.launch and Major Tim's lift off throughout the programme.

:20:32. > :20:37.Final preparations are being made in Kazakhstan for the launch

:20:38. > :20:39.of the Soyuz spacecraft which will carry the British

:20:40. > :20:41.astronaut Major Tim Peake to the International Space Station.

:20:42. > :20:44.The former army platoon commander, who joined the European Space Agency

:20:45. > :20:47.six years ago, will be the first British member

:20:48. > :20:55.The body which inspects police forces in England and Wales says

:20:56. > :20:58.they're on the verge of being "overwhelmed" by a surge

:20:59. > :21:03.It says Chief Constables should assign more officers to the problem

:21:04. > :21:08.to ensure that investigations aren't delayed.

:21:09. > :21:11.The American comedian, Bill Cosby, who's been accused of sexual assault

:21:12. > :21:13.on more than forty women, has begun legal action

:21:14. > :21:17.He says they've lied for financial gain and caused

:21:18. > :21:23.Mr Cosby has repeatedly denied the accusations and has not been

:21:24. > :21:29.Saudi Arabia says it's formed a military coalition of 34

:21:30. > :21:33.mainly Muslim nations to combat terrorism.

:21:34. > :21:36.A joint operations centre is to be established in the Saudi capital,

:21:37. > :21:41.Countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world

:21:42. > :21:43.are involved in the alliance but Saudi Arabia's main regional

:21:44. > :21:52.With a march past of stormtroopers, and the robots C-3P0 and R2-D2

:21:53. > :21:55.rolling down the red carpet, the seventh Star Wars film has

:21:56. > :22:01.The movie - The Force Awakens - stars many of the actors

:22:02. > :22:04.who appeared in the original science fiction trilogy more

:22:05. > :22:15.Let's catch up with all the sport now and join Ore and the poor form

:22:16. > :22:21.continues in the Premier League for Chelsea.

:22:22. > :22:31.Either a 20 points behind Leicester, I say with a big smile on my face.

:22:32. > :22:36.Chelsea fans will have upside down smiles in disbelief at what is going

:22:37. > :22:41.on in the Premier League. 2-1 for Leicester over Chelsea last night

:22:42. > :22:45.and both clubs in complete contrast in positions. Jose Mourinho says he

:22:46. > :22:51.is ashamed of the position the club is in. They are one point of the

:22:52. > :22:56.relegation zone. He says there is no chance of reaching the top four at

:22:57. > :23:01.the end of the season and he says the players have betrayed his work.

:23:02. > :23:06.On the flip side Leicester are enjoying a fairy tale of a season.

:23:07. > :23:10.Look back to this time last season and Chelsea were riding high at the

:23:11. > :23:16.top of the table and Leicester were rock bottom. How about that for

:23:17. > :23:23.changing fortunes? But in 2004 Claudio Ranieri was sacked as

:23:24. > :23:31.manager and was replaced by Jose Mourinho. 11 years on his team are

:23:32. > :23:35.now 20 points above Chelsea who look like relegation candidates at this

:23:36. > :23:42.stage. I will give you this before I go. Leicester are having their best

:23:43. > :23:48.start to a top-flight season in their 131 years as a club. Chelsea

:23:49. > :23:53.have not lost more than nine games from their opening 16 games of the

:23:54. > :24:01.season since 1978 and 1979 when they were relegated. Gary Lineker,

:24:02. > :24:06.England and Leicester legend, says he will do the first match of the

:24:07. > :24:11.Day next season in his underpants if Leicester win the Premier League. If

:24:12. > :24:12.that is not incentive, I do not know what is!

:24:13. > :24:19.We'll be live at the launch site as astronaut Tim Peake

:24:20. > :24:23.makes his final preparations before take off.

:24:24. > :24:34.It is now on our 24 point ten seconds.

:24:35. > :24:37.A woman whose ex-boyfriend was the first man to be convicted

:24:38. > :24:40.of "revenge porn" is calling for a change in the law to give

:24:41. > :24:42.all other victims the right to anonymity in such cases.

:24:43. > :24:45.At the moment the law automatically gives all victims of sexual offences

:24:46. > :24:48.anonymity, but it doesn't include victims of revenge porn.

:24:49. > :24:50.Keeley Richards-Shaw says she was left humiliated

:24:51. > :24:54.when she was publicly named and pictured after her ex

:24:55. > :24:58.was convicted of sending naked pictures he'd secretly taken

:24:59. > :25:03.She's launching her campaign on our programme this morning

:25:04. > :25:06.alongside Julia Mulligan, the Police and Crime Commissioner

:25:07. > :25:20.Welcome to both of you. I wonder, first of all, for our audience, if

:25:21. > :25:26.you could tell us how you came to discover your ex-boyfriend had these

:25:27. > :25:29.images of view. We had been together all through school, so I thought it

:25:30. > :25:33.was somebody I could trust and the relationship came to an end after

:25:34. > :25:40.about a year and a half of getting back together after school and then

:25:41. > :25:45.I received a text message of some pictures of myself which I did not

:25:46. > :25:49.know he had taken and they were from his new girlfriend who said I needed

:25:50. > :25:55.to be aware of what he was doing. When you first look at them, what

:25:56. > :26:00.did you think? I was shocked because I had no idea the pictures had been

:26:01. > :26:06.taken. He had had them on his telephone for some time. I felt

:26:07. > :26:12.ashamed, degraded embarrassed. What did you do? I went to the police.

:26:13. > :26:19.How did they treat you? They were brilliant, they were shocked at how

:26:20. > :26:27.he had betrayed my trust. Did you know this was a crime? No, I had no

:26:28. > :26:31.idea. He had been stalking as well, so it was the final thing with the

:26:32. > :26:36.photographs and I'd told the police the whole story and they told me

:26:37. > :26:42.there was a new law, revenge porn, so there would be two offences,

:26:43. > :26:45.stopping and revenge porn. People will have heard of the new

:26:46. > :26:50.legislation, but they might assume that for an offence to be committed

:26:51. > :26:55.you have to load pictures to the Internet, but it is an offence for a

:26:56. > :26:58.present to publish a private, sexual image of another person without

:26:59. > :27:04.their consent where this disclosure causes distress to the person who is

:27:05. > :27:07.the subject of the image. Interesting in this particular sense

:27:08. > :27:13.how it has been used. During his court case I think you were trying

:27:14. > :27:21.to keep what had happened to you privately, but that in the end was

:27:22. > :27:25.impossible. Very few people knew what was going on. A few close

:27:26. > :27:30.family friends, but I did not want anybody to know. Then the day before

:27:31. > :27:35.we got through on court hearing and the day before sentencing I got the

:27:36. > :27:41.message warning Meet the Press had got hold of it and it would be there

:27:42. > :27:47.and it went from bad to worse. In terms of coverage of you and your

:27:48. > :27:57.identification, what was out there? My picture, my job, they were

:27:58. > :28:02.waiting on my doorstep the next morning, I had got letters. I had

:28:03. > :28:07.gone from being stalked by him to being stalked by the media. I wanted

:28:08. > :28:14.to forget the whole thing and left alone. If my name had not been out

:28:15. > :28:18.there, I would not be doing this. I had the opportunity to do a lot when

:28:19. > :28:23.it first started and I said no. But now to give victims the other

:28:24. > :28:28.opportunity to get on with their lives, I feel it needs to be done.

:28:29. > :28:37.Why do you think anonymity for victims of this kind of crime is

:28:38. > :28:41.crucial? For them, their family and children, to keep their personal

:28:42. > :28:45.life and their personal life. Even if people were allowing people to

:28:46. > :28:50.take photographs of them, which I did not, even then it is personal

:28:51. > :28:56.and it should not be shared. Julia, it seems to be beside that this is

:28:57. > :29:01.broadly speaking sexual offences legislation, but yet victims do not

:29:02. > :29:07.have a right to anonymity. It is odd. I think talking to people it

:29:08. > :29:12.has been categorised more as a domestic abuse offence as opposed to

:29:13. > :29:15.a sexual offence. If you look at it in the sexual offences category,

:29:16. > :29:20.anonymity would have been thought about when the legislation was being

:29:21. > :29:25.passed. We want ministers to hear what Keely has to say and take

:29:26. > :29:31.action to change the law. Do you think you will get a reasonable

:29:32. > :29:35.hearing? I cannot see what the downside is. You have heard her

:29:36. > :29:41.story today and there is a precedent set and I would hope they would

:29:42. > :29:44.listen. I wonder if you think the fact that is not automatic

:29:45. > :29:50.anonymity, and I take the point that it is under domestic abuse

:29:51. > :29:56.legislation, but maybe it is not being taken seriously enough yet.

:29:57. > :29:59.Not enough people know about the offence. Anybody who is watching

:30:00. > :30:03.today who thinks they are a victim of this type of offence, go to the

:30:04. > :30:11.police because hopefully you will get the same service. It is also men

:30:12. > :30:15.and women. That is the first thing. Secondly, it is important that

:30:16. > :30:20.people have their privacy respected and some of the media have said we

:30:21. > :30:28.will respect somebody's privacy, but in this case they did not. Some

:30:29. > :30:33.newspapers are taking the decision upon themselves not to publish

:30:34. > :30:37.victims' names, but it is not automatic and not across the board.

:30:38. > :30:42.If there is somebody watching right now, a man or a woman, who is being

:30:43. > :30:47.blackmailed or threaten or who feels like they are being stalked with the

:30:48. > :30:50.threat of private pictures being loaded to the Internet or passed

:30:51. > :30:56.around friends and colleagues, what would you say to them? Go straight

:30:57. > :31:01.to the police and they have done nothing wrong, they should not feel

:31:02. > :31:11.ashamed. I feel I have done something I have not. Why do you

:31:12. > :31:15.feel that? Yes. Even though he has been convicted? I feel embarrassed

:31:16. > :31:23.and degraded and I have no trust now. I wish you all the best with

:31:24. > :31:28.your campaign. And remember to go and sign the petition. Of course, it

:31:29. > :31:34.Still to come today, we'll be live from LA where fans

:31:35. > :31:38.have been queuing for up to 12 days to get the first tickets to see

:31:39. > :31:46.We'll be speaking to one hopeful a little later.

:31:47. > :31:53.We will bring you the countdown to lift off as the final preparations

:31:54. > :31:57.are being made for the launch of the Soyuz spacecraft which will carry

:31:58. > :32:01.major Tim Peake to the International Space Station. He is the first fully

:32:02. > :32:11.British member of the European Space Agency to visit the space station.

:32:12. > :32:13.He beat thousands and thousands of other applicants. What does it take

:32:14. > :33:56.to get to this point? It's about one hour to go. Let's

:33:57. > :33:59.talk to our correspondence at the launch pad. Not far from it in

:34:00. > :34:05.Kazakhstan at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Behind you, Major Tim

:34:06. > :34:12.Peake and his two colleagues, what will they be doing right now? They

:34:13. > :34:16.are behind me in the side the Soyez spacecraft, the top section of this

:34:17. > :34:23.50 metre rocket which is on the launch pad behind me. This is where

:34:24. > :34:29.you regard in blast off into space in 1961. Tim Peake and his two crew

:34:30. > :34:31.members are about to follow in his footsteps on board that rocket so

:34:32. > :34:39.huge moment of footsteps on board that rocket so

:34:40. > :34:42.first flight into space. -- Yuri Gagarin the others are more

:34:43. > :34:46.experienced. Tim Kopra has been up once and Yuri Malenchenko has been

:34:47. > :34:51.on five previous space flight but still, this is a big moment. Most of

:34:52. > :34:56.the final preparations have already been done. The crew are in their

:34:57. > :35:00.spacesuits, said their farewells to their families and are now inside

:35:01. > :35:03.the spacecraft. Just making their final checks to make sure everything

:35:04. > :35:09.is in order. Liftoff will now take place in one hour. There are various

:35:10. > :35:14.traditions going back years. 50 years. And possibly superstitions

:35:15. > :35:24.you could say. Talk is through those. Yes, there's quite a few. In

:35:25. > :35:25.fact, I think astronauts are pretty superstitious people as we have come

:35:26. > :35:29.to understand and they basically superstitious people as we have come

:35:30. > :35:35.follow the same rituals Yuri Gagarin first did in 1961 and that goes back

:35:36. > :35:39.to things like the fact he planted a tree before he went into space,

:35:40. > :35:42.that's one of them. He also had a haircut a couple of days before

:35:43. > :35:46.gumming up an astronaut still do that today. Also, more

:35:47. > :35:49.entertainingly, apparently he stopped the bus on the way to the

:35:50. > :35:52.launch pad and had a wee on the back wheel. Even to this day, every

:35:53. > :35:57.single male National going to space still does the same. They had to

:35:58. > :36:01.take office space it from and to do that as well. It's all about making

:36:02. > :36:05.sure if it was safer Yuri Gagarin, they believe if they follow this

:36:06. > :36:10.list of rituals, it will be safe for them, too. Yuri Gagarin was a little

:36:11. > :36:15.anxious and asked for a bid of music to be played to him, didn't he? Yes,

:36:16. > :36:20.apparently when he was about at this point in preparations for the

:36:21. > :36:23.flight, in the capsule, having done all the checks, he was feeling

:36:24. > :36:28.nervous and asked for music and apparently what the Russians had at

:36:29. > :36:32.hand was Russian love songs so they piped about into his headphones. The

:36:33. > :36:35.crew actually get to choose songs these days they want played to them

:36:36. > :36:42.and Tim Peake is chosen three. One of them is Don't Stop Me Now, Queen

:36:43. > :36:55.and also song by Coldplay and another one by one of his favourite

:36:56. > :37:01.bands U2. Beautiful Date. Tell us about the mission. The rocket behind

:37:02. > :37:04.you, 80 minutes and 48 until it reaches orbit and then six hours to

:37:05. > :37:12.the International Space Station. What do they do when they get there?

:37:13. > :37:16.Yes, it's quite a long ride up but a lot shorter than it used to be. It

:37:17. > :37:19.used to take two days to get there but they've chosen a different

:37:20. > :37:23.flight path now and that should get them there within six hours from

:37:24. > :37:27.blast off. A couple of hours from docking until they're actually enter

:37:28. > :37:30.the space station. I've spoken to astronauts who made that journey

:37:31. > :37:37.before and they said it is a real relief because it's pretty chilly

:37:38. > :37:42.and cramped. After they reach there, they can have a warm meal, take off

:37:43. > :37:50.their space gay, so a good moment of relief of course for everyone --

:37:51. > :37:55.space gear. Once they finally acclimatised to zero gravity, it's

:37:56. > :38:00.down to work which is a very big programme of scientific experiments.

:38:01. > :38:05.Tim Peake has more than 265 he will be conducting up that in

:38:06. > :38:09.microgravity. Lots of them about health issues, people back on Earth,

:38:10. > :38:16.but the kinds of experiments which should help to expand space travel

:38:17. > :38:20.even further. If they can look into the impact of space travel on the

:38:21. > :38:24.human body, they can look into possibilities for man to go back to

:38:25. > :38:30.the moon to perhaps colonise it and eventually one day to fly to Mars.

:38:31. > :38:33.Sarah, thank you very much for now for that we will talk to you now.

:38:34. > :38:36.The American comedian Bill Cosby has filed a counter-claim against seven

:38:37. > :38:41.of the women who accused him of sexually assaulting them.

:38:42. > :38:44.According to the lawsuit his accusers set out to cause damage

:38:45. > :38:50.More than 50 women have come forward in recent years to make allegations

:38:51. > :38:58.against him, which he has repeatedly denied.

:38:59. > :39:03.We are now taking steps in order to right a wrong and the burden of

:39:04. > :39:06.proof is supposed to be on the people who are making the

:39:07. > :39:08.accusation. The media has not required these accusers to have to

:39:09. > :39:10.do. The lawyer Jo Camarada represents

:39:11. > :39:19.all of the seven women. My seven clients and vigorously

:39:20. > :39:25.proceed with their case, each confident their good name and

:39:26. > :39:27.reputation will be restored at the end of the day.

:39:28. > :39:30.Let's talk now to Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School

:39:31. > :39:41.Good morning. Why is he is suing just seven? I think these are the

:39:42. > :39:46.ones he wants to focus on because they are in Massachusetts where Bill

:39:47. > :39:50.Cosby has his honorary degree and can claim he has had the most damage

:39:51. > :39:54.from these declamatory remarks. So perhaps later he will bring other

:39:55. > :40:00.lawsuits. These are the ones front and centre and probably has the

:40:01. > :40:06.largest amount of damage. What chance does he have of success is to

:40:07. > :40:09.mark this will all come down to a swearing contest, who do you

:40:10. > :40:17.believe? His chances depend the same as they did in him being sued. Who

:40:18. > :40:20.would you believe? Bill Cosby, who said these things never happen to or

:40:21. > :40:24.the seven women who brought the lawsuit? No one can determine that

:40:25. > :40:30.until there was testimony before a jury. Where is the police

:40:31. > :40:34.investigation up to? There is a police investigation of criminal

:40:35. > :40:38.charges, but this is not a criminal case. These are lawsuits and, for

:40:39. > :40:42.the criminal charges, it's very difficult because these events

:40:43. > :40:50.occurred two or three decades ago according to the plaintiffs. In

:40:51. > :40:55.terms of the threshold, it will come down to who we believe, is it beyond

:40:56. > :41:00.reasonable doubt? Is it probability? What is the threshold? It is

:41:01. > :41:04.different depending on whether the women's case go forward or Bill

:41:05. > :41:08.Cosby's. For the women, they just have to prove in fact he has made

:41:09. > :41:14.false statements regarding them. But they also have to prove that there

:41:15. > :41:19.was malice, because he is a high figure. So it's going to be

:41:20. > :41:22.something along the lines of what we would call negligent behaviour. That

:41:23. > :41:27.someone is intentionally making false statements, don't forget,

:41:28. > :41:31.these are not case is about the actual sexual assault. The time has

:41:32. > :41:38.elapsed for those, so everybody has changed these into defamation

:41:39. > :41:42.actions. OK, thank you very much. It is coming up to ten o'clock. Time

:41:43. > :41:47.now for a look at the weather. Considering it over one week until

:41:48. > :41:51.Christmas, it is warmer. It certainly is. My heating is. I love

:41:52. > :41:57.these conversations we have about your heating. You can keep it for

:41:58. > :42:01.the rest of week. Next week, it will be on and off as the temperatures

:42:02. > :42:05.change. Still quite chilly in Scotland and northern England but

:42:06. > :42:10.over the next few days, this plume of milder conditions sweep across

:42:11. > :42:15.us. Even warmer, not just by day, Victoria but by night as well. To

:42:16. > :42:21.show you how confusing it must be for spring plants, here they are.

:42:22. > :42:27.This picture came in from Egham. Look at this one. This is in

:42:28. > :42:31.Somerset. Fantastic. We still have some snow in Scotland in contrast.

:42:32. > :42:37.But this week, these are the temperatures, 16 in London. 13 in

:42:38. > :42:44.Cardiff. Although today won't be anything like 13 in Aberdeen, in the

:42:45. > :42:48.next few days, it will be. What do you think the average should be for

:42:49. > :42:59.this stage of December in London? 11? Not far off, good guess. Nine

:43:00. > :43:04.Celsius. Leeds, seven, Cardiff, nine, Aberdeen, seven, as well, so

:43:05. > :43:07.we are way above but as we head into next week, we will flip-flop between

:43:08. > :43:15.milder conditions and colder conditions. So for example the

:43:16. > :43:17.moment, the jet stream is pseudo- stationery so there's still some

:43:18. > :43:23.movement in it but it's basically oscillating like that which means we

:43:24. > :43:26.are on the milder side of it. Next week, it moves a little bit more so

:43:27. > :43:32.we will get onto the colder side at times and then we will come onto the

:43:33. > :43:37.milder side and in the colder side. Pseudo- stationery, that was the

:43:38. > :43:41.phrase, was it? Not many people will remember that. Well done. Today it a

:43:42. > :43:45.different story for many of us. Starting off on a cloudy note. The

:43:46. > :43:50.cloud will prevail through the day. Mild for some of us and we had some

:43:51. > :43:54.rain and drizzle in the forecast. As we go through the course of today,

:43:55. > :43:58.there's a weather front reduces showery outbreaks of rain moving

:43:59. > :44:02.slowly northwards. Some drizzle moving out of the thicker cloud and

:44:03. > :44:04.then the next cluster of fronts coming our way introducing wet and

:44:05. > :44:09.windy conditions from the south-west. You can see it advancing

:44:10. > :44:13.north eastwards nicely to the morning and into the afternoon. For

:44:14. > :44:17.the rest of the UK, yes, some brighter breaks in north-west

:44:18. > :44:21.England, south-west Scotland, a bit of sunshine here. That will continue

:44:22. > :44:26.on and off as we go through the course of the afternoon with bits of

:44:27. > :44:29.cloud flirting with those areas. Chilly in Aberdeen and also where we

:44:30. > :44:33.have lying snow in Scotland but for Northern Ireland, northern England,

:44:34. > :44:39.a lot of cloud, the rain knocking on the door of Southern Ireland and

:44:40. > :44:45.then all this cloud, hill fog, across the Pennines, the peaks, and

:44:46. > :44:50.then the rain in Wales, heading through Dorset and Somerset and some

:44:51. > :44:54.of that is likely to be heavy. It will be mild for many this afternoon

:44:55. > :44:58.and as we head to the evening and overnight, a band of rain sweeps

:44:59. > :45:03.northwards to be replaced by another one coming in accompanied by gusty

:45:04. > :45:08.wind. Very gusty across the South Western approaches. We could have

:45:09. > :45:15.severe gale force over the Bristol Channel. I'm showing you the

:45:16. > :45:18.night-time temperatures. 8-13dC. These temperatures are more

:45:19. > :45:23.reminiscent of what we would expect to see overnight, mid July. Not as

:45:24. > :45:27.we head into Christmas. At this time of year, overnight, we would expect

:45:28. > :45:31.around about freezing all one Celsius to about four in the south,

:45:32. > :45:37.so fastly different. For tomorrow, all this rain continuing, moving off

:45:38. > :45:42.eventually into the North Sea. Leaving behind it, quite a lot of

:45:43. > :45:46.cloud. Some drizzle and showery rain. Lighter wind tomorrow and a

:45:47. > :45:51.greater chance of more of us seeing brighter spells than today.

:45:52. > :45:54.Temperatures continuing to climb and the milder conditions pushing up

:45:55. > :46:00.towards the north-east of Scotland but look at London, 15. As we move

:46:01. > :46:04.into Thursday, we start off on a dry and bright note in the East. The

:46:05. > :46:10.weather front comes in introducing some rain but it will also get that

:46:11. > :46:14.of the low cloud and fog we have got and, behind it, a return to showers

:46:15. > :46:18.but the temperatures predicted for this stage in December. -- pretty

:46:19. > :46:24.good for the stage in December. I'm Victoria Derbyshire,

:46:25. > :46:45.welcome to the programme. And liftoff. British astronaut Tim

:46:46. > :46:51.Peake is preparing to blast off to the International Space Station.

:46:52. > :46:57.Lift off is in one hour and two minutes.

:46:58. > :47:02.How do you feel? We are ready to go. He will make history as he spends

:47:03. > :47:07.the next six months in space carrying out scientific experiments

:47:08. > :47:11.and looking at views like this. When you see the earth it is a sensation

:47:12. > :47:18.that is incredibly hard to grasp and quite emotional. It is really very

:47:19. > :47:23.impactful to see the place where the entire human history has occurred

:47:24. > :47:29.below you looking a lot like it does on maps and globes, but being very

:47:30. > :47:32.real. We will count down to the launch. At exactly three minutes

:47:33. > :47:39.past 11 and you will be able to watch it live here on the BBC.

:47:40. > :47:43.Final preparations are being made in Kazakhstan for the launch

:47:44. > :47:45.of the Soyuz spacecraft which will carry the British

:47:46. > :47:47.astronaut Major Tim Peake to the International Space Station.

:47:48. > :47:50.The former army platoon commander, who joined the European Space Agency

:47:51. > :47:53.six years ago, will be the first British member of the station's

:47:54. > :48:02.The body which inspects police forces in England and Wales says

:48:03. > :48:04.they're on the verge of being "overwhelmed" by a surge

:48:05. > :48:12.It says Chief Constables should assign more officers

:48:13. > :48:15.to the problem to ensure that investigations aren't delayed.

:48:16. > :48:18.The American comedian, Bill Cosby, who's been accused of sexual assault

:48:19. > :48:20.on more than forty women, has begun legal action

:48:21. > :48:25.He says they've lied for financial gain and caused

:48:26. > :48:30.Mr Cosby has repeatedly denied the accusations and has not been

:48:31. > :48:37.New figures out this morning show inflation has returned to positive

:48:38. > :48:38.territory for the first time in four months,

:48:39. > :48:42.but remains close to zero, as it has for most of this year.

:48:43. > :48:46.The mild weather drove a record fall in clothing and footwear prices

:48:47. > :48:52.amid widespread discounting on the high street.

:48:53. > :48:55.Saudi Arabia says it's formed a military coalition of 34

:48:56. > :48:58.mainly Muslim nations to combat terrorism.

:48:59. > :49:01.A joint operations centre is to be established in the Saudi capital,

:49:02. > :49:04.Countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world

:49:05. > :49:07.are involved in the alliance but Saudi Arabia's main regional

:49:08. > :49:17.With a march past of stormtroopers, and the robots C-3P0 and R2-D2

:49:18. > :49:20.rolling down the red carpet, the seventh Star Wars film has

:49:21. > :49:25.The movie - The Force Awakens - stars many of the actors

:49:26. > :49:28.who appeared in the original science fiction trilogy more

:49:29. > :49:40.Let's catch up with all the sport now and join Ore.

:49:41. > :49:48.Thank you very much. Not many Chelsea fans will want to show their

:49:49. > :49:52.faces in the office this morning. They suffered their ninth defeat in

:49:53. > :49:57.the league last night, but the praise has to go to Leicester City

:49:58. > :50:04.whose fairy tale season continues after an impressive 2-1 win. Jamie

:50:05. > :50:15.Vardy bagged his 15th goal of the season. Loic Remy's late goals set

:50:16. > :50:18.up a tense Nish, but Chelsea sit a point above the relegation zone and

:50:19. > :50:27.Leicester return to the top of the table. For us it is important to

:50:28. > :50:33.achieve five points more and we look how long it takes to the finish of

:50:34. > :50:38.the Premier League and then it is another goal. This is the first

:50:39. > :50:44.important goal for us. At this moment we are in a bad position, but

:50:45. > :50:58.our urgency is to win points, to get out of this zone where we are not

:50:59. > :51:01.afraid to be. So, Jose Mourinho is ashamed and Chelsea Towers are

:51:02. > :51:09.embarrassed. Let's talk to Dan Levene. You watched the game last

:51:10. > :51:16.night. Surely the writing is on the wall if it continues the way it is

:51:17. > :51:21.going? I think last night felt like a watershed moment in terms of Jose

:51:22. > :51:25.Mourinho's comments. He said for the first time that fourth place is

:51:26. > :51:30.gone, which we have never heard before. It has been the death knell

:51:31. > :51:35.for the Chelsea manager. He said he felt betrayed by his players. This

:51:36. > :51:40.takes us into a territory where you have got a manager who may have lost

:51:41. > :51:47.the dressing room. This is a difficult place for his comeback.

:51:48. > :51:53.The problem they have got, well, they have got quite a few, but on a

:51:54. > :51:57.weekday, on a midweek game in Europe they seem to do well and are through

:51:58. > :52:02.to the knockout of the Champions League, but they cannot replicate it

:52:03. > :52:11.at the weekend. What do you put that down to? It is a curious phenomena,

:52:12. > :52:15.although Chelsea have had not very strong opposition in the Champions

:52:16. > :52:20.League. They won over Porto and Porto did not come out and fight.

:52:21. > :52:25.Teams have taken the game to them. They have seen the champions side

:52:26. > :52:30.that is a wisp of what was last season. But Leicester attacked

:52:31. > :52:38.Chelsea from the off and they had guile and ambition. Chelsea had very

:52:39. > :52:40.little idea of what they were doing. Individual performances have been

:52:41. > :52:46.wanting and there is no team at the moment and that is a big problem.

:52:47. > :52:51.Dan Levene in Leicester, he follows Chelsea, thank you very much indeed.

:52:52. > :52:57.Chelsea are a long way from where they were last season. They had 39

:52:58. > :53:03.points at this stage last season. It is a 50 point swing if you look at

:53:04. > :53:12.where Leicester are now. They are top of the Premier League and

:53:13. > :53:19.enjoying a fairy tale. Not long to go, within the next hour 43-year-old

:53:20. > :53:24.father two called Tim Peake from Chichester will make history,

:53:25. > :53:28.preparing to go to the International Space Station. He will spend the

:53:29. > :53:31.next six months conducting scientific experiments which

:53:32. > :53:36.potentially should lead to improvements in our lives on Earth.

:53:37. > :53:40.In the next hour or so we will bring you all the build-up and you will be

:53:41. > :53:49.able to watch the Soyuz rocket carrying him and his colleagues take

:53:50. > :53:55.off at exactly three minutes past 11 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in

:53:56. > :54:00.Kazakhstan. It will take under ten minutes to get into orbit and a

:54:01. > :54:05.further six hours to reach the International Space Station which

:54:06. > :54:14.orbits the Earth at 17,500 mph. It is something like 16 sunrises and

:54:15. > :54:17.sunsets every day. We are going to spend the next hour talking about it

:54:18. > :54:22.and build it up to the launch because it is history in the making.

:54:23. > :54:27.While the astronauts are waiting to take off they can request music to

:54:28. > :54:34.be played into their headphones, a tradition going back 50 years. Major

:54:35. > :54:46.Tim Peake has asked for this. # And the world is turning inside

:54:47. > :54:54.out, yes, turning around in ecstasy. # So don't stop me now, don't stop

:54:55. > :54:59.me now. # Cause I am having a good time,

:55:00. > :55:12.having a good time. # I am a racing car that is inviting

:55:13. > :55:18.like Lady Godiva. I am going to go, go, because there

:55:19. > :55:22.is no stopping me. # I can travelling at the speed of

:55:23. > :55:33.light. He has also chosen Beautiful Day and

:55:34. > :55:38.a Coldplay track. Mark Thompson is an author and contributed to the BBC

:55:39. > :56:04.Stargazing live programme. Mark Thompson, what do you think of

:56:05. > :56:12.his choice of music? I have got to say I am a bit envious of him. Tell

:56:13. > :56:17.us what you know about his preparations and what he will be

:56:18. > :56:22.most looking forward to. I know he has been training for six years to

:56:23. > :56:27.get into space, a huge amount of training for anyone. He has had to

:56:28. > :56:31.wait a long while for this day. But now it is in the hands of the

:56:32. > :56:35.mission controllers and the engineers and the flight crew on the

:56:36. > :56:41.ground. Tim will be saying goodbye to his family and preparing for the

:56:42. > :56:46.trip ahead. You have got this event at the science Museum and various

:56:47. > :56:50.schools will be watching it on TV. I have told my kids that I do not care

:56:51. > :56:58.what lesson they have got, tell your teachers to put television on

:56:59. > :57:05.because that will be inspirational for this generation. Yes, he will be

:57:06. > :57:10.doing lots of scientific experiments, but he is very keen as

:57:11. > :57:14.well to use his time to do teaching and he is doing lots of work with

:57:15. > :57:18.schools and he is doing science experiments that schoolkids can get

:57:19. > :57:27.involved in. That is one of the key things. Let me bring in Professor

:57:28. > :57:36.David southward. Can we just pause for a moment. A British man blasting

:57:37. > :57:40.off into space who, by the end of the day, will be on the

:57:41. > :57:44.International Space Station. Oh, my goodness, it is history. It is. The

:57:45. > :57:56.first British person was Helen Sharman back in 1989. I should have

:57:57. > :58:00.said 20 years. It is the first British official astronaut. Eight

:58:01. > :58:05.people born in the UK have been up, but this is the first British

:58:06. > :58:12.astronaut. It must be the greatest day for the US gay as well. It shows

:58:13. > :58:19.Britain stepping up to be one of the true space missions. -- USA. We have

:58:20. > :58:22.always had a big space industry here, but we have been a bit

:58:23. > :58:27.standoffish about the business of putting people into space. There was

:58:28. > :58:32.a time when Britain thought and manned space flight was the future,

:58:33. > :58:39.is that right? That is how it behaved, I am not sure that thought

:58:40. > :58:44.was the right word. It is cheaper to do unmanned spacecraft that it is to

:58:45. > :58:50.do human beings on board. When you take away the budget and put in a

:58:51. > :58:55.patch of inspiration and a bit up British shoe winder vivre, you have

:58:56. > :59:04.got a fantastic launch ahead. Can we talk about the money? Tax payers do.

:59:05. > :59:08.The space station was $100 billion? No one is quite sure because it's

:59:09. > :59:12.been concluded to buy a variety of nations that we don't know how much

:59:13. > :59:16.it cost but it's an enormous sum of money until you divided by the

:59:17. > :59:21.population of the countries in question and recognise that we did

:59:22. > :59:27.it over 20 odd years to build. I mean, everybody got together to do

:59:28. > :59:30.it. I think a lot of people will be saying, why are we spending so much

:59:31. > :59:35.money up there when there is so much to do down here? But the amount to

:59:36. > :59:43.spending divided over the number of people, the cost of the space

:59:44. > :59:47.programme, we are putting into the European Space Agency is about

:59:48. > :59:51.roughly the amount we spend on Mars bars in the UK. A tiny amount

:59:52. > :59:57.compared to what we spend on other things. So what do we get back from

:59:58. > :00:02.it? I got a list of space advances what space expiration has given us,

:00:03. > :00:07.the kind of experiment Tim Peake will be doing. People usually throw

:00:08. > :00:11.in nonstick frying pans, it's not just Teflon, is it? What have we

:00:12. > :00:20.learned from space which has improved our lives on Earth? If you

:00:21. > :00:25.ever use GPS, that came from a couple of American scientists

:00:26. > :00:31.tracking Sputnik. It gave them the idea of using spacecraft. I'm sorry,

:00:32. > :00:37.I'm going to pause because we're going to dip into the European Space

:00:38. > :00:46.Agency commentary. An astronaut is talking as to the pictures. -- is

:00:47. > :00:53.talking us through the pictures. And so, this is, you get up in the

:00:54. > :01:00.talking us through the pictures. And morning... After last night, yes.

:01:01. > :01:06.Going through the door. Pictures. Residents in this room. There are

:01:07. > :01:12.many people in the room. The tradition is to sign the door from

:01:13. > :01:17.the very first space flight of Yuri Gagarin. How well do you sleep the

:01:18. > :01:22.night before the launch? Is it that might not be perfect of course. A

:01:23. > :01:25.lot of excitement going on. On the other hand, you want to get some

:01:26. > :01:31.sleep because of course you have a busy day. It's important to get some

:01:32. > :01:36.sleep but the important thing is I don't think they have a lot of sleep

:01:37. > :01:45.shifts, so they might have had a better night. Today we are going to

:01:46. > :01:49.the space station,. This is a blessing on the spacecraft. A more

:01:50. > :01:57.recent addition. It is not the case before, by the way. This is the crew

:01:58. > :02:09.leaving the hotel where they stayed last week. Last night on Earth. Yes,

:02:10. > :02:14.yes, we hope so. They are still not in orbit. Yes, we should assume,

:02:15. > :02:17.should we? We are going to leave that now because we're going to show

:02:18. > :02:26.you live pictures from inside the capsule. Any second now. Let's have

:02:27. > :02:33.a look. There we go. OK, can be recognise them? I'm trying to but

:02:34. > :02:39.it's quite difficult, isn't it? Is that Tim on the left? I'm not sure.

:02:40. > :02:47.Usually they have their names on their spacesuits. They are suited up

:02:48. > :02:52.and are waiting a couple of hours waiting for it all to happen so, at

:02:53. > :02:58.this stage, I mean, they are trained not to get too nervous and they have

:02:59. > :03:02.been through it so many times. He must be apprehensive sitting there.

:03:03. > :03:07.You can't not be and be human, really. You are sitting on top of

:03:08. > :03:10.tonnes of fuel knowing that there have been failures. I think it's

:03:11. > :03:17.only human to be apprehensive, as we all are. But the Soyez is one of the

:03:18. > :03:23.most reliable launches so I'm sure that's not on their minds. I think,

:03:24. > :03:28.actually, they have been trained so well, you are not thinking about

:03:29. > :03:31.that but thinking about making sure you've got your schedule right, and

:03:32. > :03:40.thinking what you got to do next. The job in hand. This guy flew

:03:41. > :03:43.helicopters. Could escape from helicopters, underwater, upside

:03:44. > :03:50.down, he has got to keep his mind on what he's doing next to make sure no

:03:51. > :03:57.mistakes. And so, I suspect he is not apprehensive at all. He is going

:03:58. > :04:06.through his check list. Certainly, I had nothing like his kind of job. I

:04:07. > :04:09.used to launch spacecraft. You know it's going to be a Rhyl disaster if

:04:10. > :04:11.something goes wrong but you are thinking, what happens

:04:12. > :04:20.next? Keeping my mind on the job. Mark,

:04:21. > :04:28.you can see these live pictures, too. What's going on here? What I

:04:29. > :04:33.can see it I had Tim Peake on the right-hand side of the picture. They

:04:34. > :04:36.are going through their preparation, pre-flight checks, to make sure the

:04:37. > :04:41.spacecraft systems are operating as a suspect and making sure things are

:04:42. > :04:46.ready for launch just after 11am this morning. Let me read some

:04:47. > :04:53.measures to you from some of our viewers. On Facebook, Ian says," why

:04:54. > :05:02.are the BBC making such a huge story out of one man going into space?" I

:05:03. > :05:05.think it's incredible. What it does show is that, although we've had

:05:06. > :05:12.space flights for the last 50 years, we still can get inspired by people

:05:13. > :05:16.like Tim Peake who are carrying the hopes and desires and aspirations of

:05:17. > :05:21.the nation and it brings people together and it's a feel-good story,

:05:22. > :05:26.as well. Ian goes on to say there are so many problems on earth to

:05:27. > :05:33.sort out, rather than give a few people a six-month holiday, finding

:05:34. > :05:38.out if you can grow cress in space, big deal expiration of David, what

:05:39. > :05:46.kind of experiments will they do? Both scientific and medical? We are

:05:47. > :05:49.human and we got to recognise the human race is evolving. We should

:05:50. > :05:55.change, we should learn things. Going off the planet is something

:05:56. > :06:01.one day maybe the whole race will have to do. It's more than just

:06:02. > :06:06.taking rocket seeds up there. It's also about the human body. You can

:06:07. > :06:09.do an awful lot and learn about osteoporosis and that a lot of the

:06:10. > :06:13.medical research being done on the space station because the rate at

:06:14. > :06:18.which your bones age is accelerated in space, so they have been able to

:06:19. > :06:22.make an awful lot of progress in space to a disease which affects a

:06:23. > :06:27.lot of people on earth. That's exactly right. So to Ian and Denise

:06:28. > :06:31.on Facebook who say it's fascinating but should we send people up there

:06:32. > :06:38.and over 40 is what has it gained us? Some things they will be doing,

:06:39. > :06:41.his body will be studied to reveal changes in his bones that mimic

:06:42. > :06:47.osteoporosis. Researchers on hope it develop them develop interventions

:06:48. > :06:54.to help people with this condition and prevent bone loss. Research into

:06:55. > :06:58.ageing. Astronauts skim often cracks and ages. We can now understand how

:06:59. > :07:05.to better protect people's skin on earth. Research into body clocks and

:07:06. > :07:10.human diet. He will be studied to see how he coped with 16 sunsets and

:07:11. > :07:16.Sunrise is a day and go on an 11 day diet to test how humans could

:07:17. > :07:21.survive a mission to Mars. Probably not but useful to people down here.

:07:22. > :07:28.What has space exploration already given us? Laser eye surgery. GPS,

:07:29. > :07:32.vaccines for bacteria, mobile phone cameras, one third use the

:07:33. > :07:36.technology developed by Nasa engineers who first met quality

:07:37. > :07:43.camera is small enough to fit on spacecraft, so there you go. Tom on

:07:44. > :07:47.Facebook says, have a saver flight, mate. Justin says, is an

:07:48. > :07:54.inspiration. Tepee on Facebook says this is amazing, bravo to the

:07:55. > :07:59.scientists. Robin, tried to describe why this is a special occasion for

:08:00. > :08:04.you and your society? You can see it in the sky. If it's not clouded

:08:05. > :08:10.night, you can see it going over at about 5:15pm over the UK. It will be

:08:11. > :08:14.visible over the next United -- cloudy night. Carol said by the

:08:15. > :08:22.weekend we may well get a chance to have a look it. You can sit in the

:08:23. > :08:27.sky and it unmistakable. A very bright object moving very steadily

:08:28. > :08:32.with no associated noise or whatever. You can see it in the sky.

:08:33. > :08:35.We are going to interrupt and go back to commentary from the European

:08:36. > :08:39.Space Agency because Wigan hit a final chapter in the astronauts and

:08:40. > :08:52.their family. That's because we can hear the final chat but in the

:08:53. > :08:55.astronauts and the family. -- we are going to go back to the commentary

:08:56. > :09:00.from the European Space Agency because we can hear the final

:09:01. > :09:07.chatting between the astronauts and their families. He is either

:09:08. > :09:13.concentrating or smiling. He is just a chronic, really, to astronauts.

:09:14. > :09:19.And to the European Space Agency. -- here's a credit. When you are in

:09:20. > :09:26.space, you are working a lot but you have a lot of public relations

:09:27. > :09:33.events and also contacts with schools and children so you have to

:09:34. > :09:45.be prepared to smile. This is our general director. These are really

:09:46. > :09:48.final messages from families and from the agencies. Of course, they

:09:49. > :09:54.will be able to speak to them every day in space. Yes, true. And there

:09:55. > :10:09.are representatives from a different space agencies at the head of the

:10:10. > :10:14.programme. And now, this is them walking out to the bus, again.

:10:15. > :10:17.APPLAUSE Yes, their last trip to the rocket.

:10:18. > :10:26.What are these bags they are carrying? Ventilation. A small bag

:10:27. > :10:27.of ventilators, it's not that warm but inside the suit it is warm,

:10:28. > :10:34.especially when walking. but inside the suit it is warm,

:10:35. > :10:39.generally see them in this line-up with Tim Peake on the left-hand

:10:40. > :10:46.side, Yuri Malenchenko in the centre seat as the Commander. And the other

:10:47. > :10:50.Tim on the right-hand seat. If you look back at the pictures, that's

:10:51. > :11:04.almost exactly how they always appear in every formal situation.

:11:05. > :11:15.True. A final moment with family. Nearby, at least. So that is

:11:16. > :11:19.commentary from Richard Holling and is astronauts guessed, from the

:11:20. > :11:24.European Space Agency. Those images from earlier because the three

:11:25. > :11:30.astronauts are strapped in to the Soyez rocket which is due to launch

:11:31. > :11:34.at 1103 exactly. You will see a take-off live here on the BBC so

:11:35. > :11:42.don't go anywhere. Here in the studio we have Professor David

:11:43. > :11:45.southward who knows Tim Peake. Sue Nelson. And Robin, vice president of

:11:46. > :11:50.the Society of popular astronomy. David, we heard Richard on the

:11:51. > :11:54.commentary saying every picture you see of Tim Peake he's either smiling

:11:55. > :12:00.or concentrating. You know him better than any of us. Is that

:12:01. > :12:05.right? Yes, he is very focused about, at the same time, he has got

:12:06. > :12:10.this very open, pleasant personality. He really knows how to

:12:11. > :12:15.communicate, so the smile, absolutely helps get rid of that

:12:16. > :12:20.feeling that he is an astronaut. He is going to be thinking very hard.

:12:21. > :12:26.He is going to be very serious. He smiles and you relax. He is, I

:12:27. > :12:31.think, a credit, as somebody said, to the astronauts. He hasn't

:12:32. > :12:35.actually been a national for that long and sometimes, you can wait

:12:36. > :12:39.years will become an astronaut to go on a mission like this, can't you?

:12:40. > :12:46.You can. He's been an astronaut for six years. I think, in the fact that

:12:47. > :12:52.he even got accepted as a Briton for the programme shows something

:12:53. > :12:57.exceptional about him. He must've stood out of the crowd. For me, he's

:12:58. > :13:02.always stood out of the crowd. When you meet him, he has got a

:13:03. > :13:08.personality you warm to. So I think he is going up now for a long, long

:13:09. > :13:16.time. This is a long trip for astronauts. I think that is a mark

:13:17. > :13:20.of the confidence placed in him by the European Space Agency and by the

:13:21. > :13:24.partners. It's a six-month mission although when they get there, three

:13:25. > :13:30.of the guys already up there have been there for a year, isn't that

:13:31. > :13:38.right? Almost. Two of the guys, Scott Kelly and the Russian, whose

:13:39. > :13:44.name escapes me, they are doing a year-long in space so they can

:13:45. > :13:48.really do these tests and see a long duration, and extreme length of time

:13:49. > :13:50.compared to normal stays on board the station and particularly

:13:51. > :13:58.interesting because Scott Kelly has a twin brother who is also an

:13:59. > :14:01.astronaut and he's on the ground so you have got a control, somebody

:14:02. > :14:08.with the same genetic make-up as you, so they can really check those

:14:09. > :14:14.differences. That is fascinating. How much muscle wastage there's been

:14:15. > :14:19.in the bone mass, the eyesight, as well, and compare it with the

:14:20. > :14:21.astronaut twin the ground. I think you made a documentary recently

:14:22. > :14:25.about the International Space Station and you spent time with

:14:26. > :14:31.astronauts. What do they say about Tim Peake? They are all incredibly,

:14:32. > :14:39.the entry. The wonderful Italian European astronaut who spent time

:14:40. > :14:44.around six months, and came down in June, she said he is a fun guy, he

:14:45. > :14:48.gets on with a team, which comes up a lot, he's a good team player and,

:14:49. > :14:53.for national, that's important because if you are stuck in a tin

:14:54. > :14:57.can effectively, even though it's quite spacious compared to the Soyez

:14:58. > :15:00.capsule, psychological testing is also part of this. You don't only

:15:01. > :15:05.need to be physically fit but mentally have the right stuff, as

:15:06. > :15:10.well. Doug Millard is at the science Museum, the space curator at the

:15:11. > :15:14.science Museum. Good morning. Must be tremendously exciting for you at

:15:15. > :15:17.the Museum this morning? I have been working here a few years and I've

:15:18. > :15:24.never seen anything like this before. Quite astonishing. In terms

:15:25. > :15:28.of inspiring primary school children right now, this is the kind of

:15:29. > :15:36.moment that is going to get them into doing the sciences, into

:15:37. > :15:39.engineering? Well, we've got about 2500 kids in the museum as we speak

:15:40. > :15:44.and this is something they will take away with them for the rest of their

:15:45. > :15:47.lives. Actually being part of such an important national event, I don't

:15:48. > :15:48.think we can underestimate the effect it's going to have on some of

:15:49. > :15:59.them. In terms of view being inspired as a

:16:00. > :16:05.young boy, do you recall what it was? I certainly can. It was Apollo.

:16:06. > :16:10.These amazing television pictures from the moon and then thinking how

:16:11. > :16:17.sad it was, Apollo 17, the final mission to the moon. We have moved

:16:18. > :16:25.on since then. Why is that so significant? The UK, as we know,

:16:26. > :16:30.does a lot of space activity, we build many satellites and our space

:16:31. > :16:35.science is second to none, but we have always hesitated with human

:16:36. > :16:40.space flight. Being the first time Britain has visited the ISS, it is

:16:41. > :16:45.long overdue and it is a very special occasion and it is high time

:16:46. > :16:53.we arrived at that top table. We can hear the kids cheering now. What are

:16:54. > :16:58.they cheering for because there is half an hour to go? They are getting

:16:59. > :17:06.very excited and we have got Brian Cox whipping them up as well. It is

:17:07. > :17:11.to do with Brian Cox. We can see pictures of the International Space

:17:12. > :17:17.Station. Sue, you have done a documentary on it recently. What are

:17:18. > :17:24.we seeing now? It is 400 kilometres above the earth. It is travelling

:17:25. > :17:28.around 17,500 mph. It is a wonderful piece of engineering. Let's listen

:17:29. > :17:42.to the European Space Agency commentary. It weighs in at 6000

:17:43. > :17:46.?993. It is approximately ?110 that can be returned to Earth in this

:17:47. > :17:57.module. It is the only portion of the Soyuz that returns to Earth. It

:17:58. > :18:04.is a very different view compared to the cruise who went to the moon. It

:18:05. > :18:11.is like being in a very high altitude are playing. But the speed

:18:12. > :18:18.is nothing you can see on an aeroplane, it is much faster. And it

:18:19. > :18:24.is compelling to watch. This is the control centre and we are in the

:18:25. > :18:33.gallery overlooking that. We are live at Baikonur. The launch is on

:18:34. > :18:40.the launch pad. It is a beautiful, clear day. We are coming up towards

:18:41. > :18:47.the end of day. The launch is due an hour before dusk. We should get

:18:48. > :18:53.quite a good view, particularly as the rocket disappears, assuming

:18:54. > :18:58.everything goes to plan. You can see these towers around the rocket. Some

:18:59. > :19:06.of them stay until quite near the last few seconds. Yes, because we

:19:07. > :19:14.are still feeding the rocket stages. And the crew has no window, they

:19:15. > :19:18.cannot seek out. Not yet, they will have windows after the jettison.

:19:19. > :19:26.They will feel the launch in the first few minutes on their body and

:19:27. > :19:33.then after four or five minutes, they will see the Earth finally.

:19:34. > :19:39.That is if they are not in the dark, they might be in the dark at that

:19:40. > :19:43.moment. They will see a black earth. Soon after they will see the light

:19:44. > :19:48.because they are travelling very quickly around the Earth. Let's find

:19:49. > :19:54.out more about the European Space Agency astronaut on board that

:19:55. > :20:00.spacecraft, Tim Peake, and his training for that mission. We will

:20:01. > :20:06.lead that therefore a second. A final thought, Doug. You have got

:20:07. > :20:11.2500 children to look after. You are showing the launch and after that

:20:12. > :20:15.what happens with all the children? Well, they have got so many events

:20:16. > :20:21.to visit around the museum today. Some of them will be lucky enough to

:20:22. > :20:26.go around the cosmonaut exhibition and have a look at a real Soyuz

:20:27. > :20:30.spacecraft, just like the one that Tim Peake is squashed up in right at

:20:31. > :20:35.this moment. They will be able to see what it is really like. Thank

:20:36. > :20:41.you for talking to us. I know you have got a busy morning. Doug

:20:42. > :20:47.mallard is the space curator at the science Museum. We will be talking

:20:48. > :20:51.to Helen Sharman in the next few minutes, the first Britain and the

:20:52. > :20:54.first woman to visit the mere space station, as the countdown to blast

:20:55. > :21:08.off at three minutes past 11. Tim Peake and his fellow astronauts

:21:09. > :21:09.are reportedly listening to music at the moment.

:21:10. > :21:19.The inspectorate of police says forces in England and Wales

:21:20. > :21:22.are 'close to being overwhelmed' by an increase in reports

:21:23. > :21:25.It's praised officers for improving their handling of such

:21:26. > :21:27.cases, but says more specialist staff are needed.

:21:28. > :21:30.Saudi Arabia says it's formed a military coalition of 34

:21:31. > :21:33.mainly Muslim nations to combat terrorism.

:21:34. > :21:36.A joint operations centre is to be established in the Saudi capital,

:21:37. > :21:40.Countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world

:21:41. > :21:42.are involved in the alliance but Saudi Arabia's main regional

:21:43. > :21:53.With a marchpast of stormtroopers, and the robots C-3P0 and R2-D2

:21:54. > :21:56.rolling down the red carpet, the seventh Star Wars film has

:21:57. > :22:00.The movie - The Force Awakens - stars many of the actors

:22:01. > :22:02.who appeared in the original science fiction trilogy more

:22:03. > :22:13.Let's catch up with all the sport headlines now and join Ore.

:22:14. > :22:19.Let's bring you some of the top stories, and Leicester have returned

:22:20. > :22:26.to the top of the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Chelsea. They

:22:27. > :22:29.are 20 points clear of the defending champions. This stunning goal

:22:30. > :22:33.secured their victory last night. Chelsea are a point of the

:22:34. > :22:39.relegation zone. England's cricketers have got the

:22:40. > :22:46.winter tour against South Africa off to a stuttering start. The tourists

:22:47. > :22:55.have been reduced to 90-3. Alastair Cook and Alex Hales were out for two

:22:56. > :23:01.and eight respectively. Alex Bairstow has signed a new contact

:23:02. > :23:06.with the county champions Yorkshire. And a trust fund has been set up to

:23:07. > :23:10.support Jonah Lomu's children after it was revealed he had almost no

:23:11. > :23:16.savings when he died last month. The New Zealand rugby players'

:23:17. > :23:20.Association who started the plan said he had helped others at the

:23:21. > :23:30.expense of himself and his family. We have Professor David southward,

:23:31. > :23:35.who has worked with Tim Peake. Sue Nelson is a presenter of a pod cast

:23:36. > :23:40.and we have the vice president of the society or popular astronomy.

:23:41. > :23:46.Blast off is at three minutes past 11. Joining us from the science

:23:47. > :23:54.Museum is Professor Lucy Green from University College London. How

:23:55. > :23:58.excited are you on a scale of 1-10? About 15. I cannot describe how

:23:59. > :24:05.excited I am also the thousands of other people here in the science

:24:06. > :24:12.Museum. As a space scientist, what does this morning mean to you? This

:24:13. > :24:16.morning means so much. This is about getting humans into space, getting

:24:17. > :24:22.Britain to be a European Space Agency astronaut, and it is also

:24:23. > :24:26.about doing research and science. There will be lots of experiments

:24:27. > :24:30.that Tim Peake will be carrying out, looking at the conditions of the

:24:31. > :24:35.human body in space, testing robotics and also looking at

:24:36. > :24:39.something called space weather and the effects of high energy,

:24:40. > :24:46.dangerous particles that come from the sun. What will it do for the

:24:47. > :24:53.2500 children in the science Museum? What effect would you like it to

:24:54. > :24:57.have on them? I would like it to showcase what is possible if you

:24:58. > :25:03.study science, mathematics and engineering and if you work hard in

:25:04. > :25:11.any area at school. If you are hard-working and determined, you

:25:12. > :25:15.never know where it will take you. Zoo, David and Robin, what got you

:25:16. > :25:21.interested as young children in this sector? In my case it was seeing

:25:22. > :25:28.Jupiter and Saturn through a telescope. How old were you? I was

:25:29. > :25:33.always interested and I know Lucy is the same. She was fascinated by

:25:34. > :25:38.seeing things through a telescope as a kid. This mission will stimulate a

:25:39. > :25:43.lot of those kids there and around the country to look up in the sky

:25:44. > :25:48.and see things through a telescope. Looking at the moon in binoculars is

:25:49. > :25:53.a fantastic sight. People will be inspired to maybe follow in the

:25:54. > :26:02.footsteps of Tim Peake. Kids in the schools near and maybe we will have

:26:03. > :26:06.more than one astronaut. For me it was Star Trek. Women scientists were

:26:07. > :26:13.constantly featured on the programme. I had a huge crush on

:26:14. > :26:18.Captain Kirk. That set me off. I even wrote to Nasser when I was

:26:19. > :26:23.about 13, saying I love physics and I would like to be an astronaut, can

:26:24. > :26:30.you recommend what to do? They wrote back and they said keep studying

:26:31. > :26:36.physics, which I did, and for you here are some technical instructions

:26:37. > :26:40.from our latest vehicle, and it was from the space shuttle. I have still

:26:41. > :26:47.got it in the attic somewhere from the 70s. David, did you have a crush

:26:48. > :26:54.on Captain Kirk? I managed to escape that. I am earlier than that. Dan

:26:55. > :27:01.Dare was my hero, but he had a female scientist, Professor Peabody,

:27:02. > :27:06.and this was in the 50s. It was absolutely the only female scientist

:27:07. > :27:12.I have come across. See how important it is to have a role

:27:13. > :27:17.model. The big shock to me was the Russians going into space first. I

:27:18. > :27:26.can remember where I was on October the 4th, 1957. How old were you? I

:27:27. > :27:31.was 12. Why was it a shock? Because I thought it would be the British or

:27:32. > :27:37.the Americans. The Russians were so far away. I remember being at school

:27:38. > :27:42.and looking out the window and thinking, I will never have anything

:27:43. > :27:46.to do with space. And yet as it happens, in the end I launched

:27:47. > :27:53.rockets from Baikonur. I never dreamt I could do it. It is the same

:27:54. > :28:01.launch pad that Tim Peake is an that Yuri Gagarin, the first man in

:28:02. > :28:11.space, was launched. If it ain't broken, do not fix it. Lucy, what

:28:12. > :28:16.was your first inspiration? I remember going out and looking at

:28:17. > :28:19.the stars. That was the inspiration for me and having a question about

:28:20. > :28:23.what they were and what was happening in space. I turned to the

:28:24. > :28:29.world around me to explore because I was curious. When I started learning

:28:30. > :28:32.about physics at school that gave me a means to understand the universe

:28:33. > :28:35.around me and that is something I have been passionate about ever

:28:36. > :28:42.since and have never stopped doing it. I hope you enjoy the launch.

:28:43. > :28:47.Professor Lucy Green, a space scientist at University College

:28:48. > :28:57.London. A few moments ago we had this coming from the Soyuz rocket.

:28:58. > :29:06.Have a listen. The music you are hearing right now is going on

:29:07. > :29:16.inside, and it is being played to the astronauts in the Soyuz capsule.

:29:17. > :29:23.A little bit of Queen being played for Tim Peake. That was one of major

:29:24. > :29:40.Tim Peake's choices to be played. We also found out earlier he is having

:29:41. > :29:46.Beautiful Day By U2. It Also Chose A Sky Full Of Stars by

:29:47. > :29:55.Coldplay. And has said, it's addictive

:29:56. > :29:59.television, all the Best wishes to Tim and his colleagues. Aaron on

:30:00. > :30:04.text message says, wide of the missions take off in Kazakhstan? Any

:30:05. > :30:08.specific reason? You referenced at the moment ago because it was the

:30:09. > :30:14.Russians who went there first. Yes, because it's very far from anywhere

:30:15. > :30:19.else. I'm sad to say the site is also used for intercontinental

:30:20. > :30:25.ballistic missile is, so it secret, the location was secret and, in

:30:26. > :30:29.fact, its location was first identified I think by people

:30:30. > :30:35.tracking it from a school in England. Jeffrey Perry and to school

:30:36. > :30:39.back in the 70s, I think it was. They tracked where the spacecraft

:30:40. > :30:44.had come from using fairly simple equipment. The Russians did not want

:30:45. > :30:51.the West to know where Baikonur Cosmodrome was. The name is an

:30:52. > :30:57.illusion. It is near a lake and they deliberately chose the name which is

:30:58. > :31:02.nowhere near this lake. And it was all part of a cover-up to try to

:31:03. > :31:06.hide from the Americans with their sites where and of course, they have

:31:07. > :31:13.to launch from rocket sites from such a site, so it takes us back to

:31:14. > :31:22.the Cold War, which, happily, is now over. There's no space shuttle now.

:31:23. > :31:26.And that, we haven't fully talked about that. This is an amazing

:31:27. > :31:32.example of international cooperation, isn't it? Even though

:31:33. > :31:39.the USA and UK and Russia may not be the best of friends when it comes to

:31:40. > :31:41.diplomatic circles, the fact is the Russians are having the only

:31:42. > :31:47.launcher which can get men into space at the very moment. It's not

:31:48. > :31:52.their only trump card. The Russians have a credit for having an

:31:53. > :31:57.excellent experience in long duration space flight and the

:31:58. > :32:04.cooperation with the Europeans and Nasser and Russia. It puts the UN to

:32:05. > :32:08.shame sometimes, I think. Let me read some more messages. What a

:32:09. > :32:12.fantastic day, my kids are excited. I'm tired of people about people

:32:13. > :32:16.moaning about how the money should be spent on other things. This will

:32:17. > :32:22.lead to life-saving breakthroughs. The whingers should direct their

:32:23. > :32:29.comments on countries the poverty spending millions on nuclear

:32:30. > :32:33.weapons. Tim, don't forget to look for Father Christmas when you are up

:32:34. > :32:38.there. Tim Peake will get a phone call on Christmas Day to his family.

:32:39. > :32:43.Frank says, being ex-military, I wish him and his fellow astronauts

:32:44. > :32:47.the very best. I'm very envious. Roger says the critics seem to be

:32:48. > :32:53.saying forget the universe, what we're getting up to on earth is much

:32:54. > :32:58.more important. We can talk now to the first Briton in space, who was

:32:59. > :33:02.actually a former chemist, Helen Sharman who visited the mere space

:33:03. > :33:09.station in 1991. That was made possible by a private programme,

:33:10. > :33:12.paid for jointly by the USSR and a consortium of British companies.

:33:13. > :33:19.Good morning to you. How are you feeling right now? Ten minutes to

:33:20. > :33:24.take off. It's all getting very exciting here at the science Museum.

:33:25. > :33:29.We got children, adults, people from all walks of life really supporting

:33:30. > :33:33.Tim. I can't hear much of what's going on in the studio because

:33:34. > :33:38.there's so much excitement here. You are the only person who can give us

:33:39. > :33:43.an insight into how Tim Peake and has two colleagues will be feeling

:33:44. > :33:49.just minutes from take-off. It ironically very calm right now. They

:33:50. > :33:52.have been training for six years, preparing for this day over and over

:33:53. > :33:58.again together and they know it's not just them but people below in

:33:59. > :34:02.mission control in Moscow, teams and teams of people around the world

:34:03. > :34:07.supporting them, so all they have got to do is get on with the job

:34:08. > :34:10.they have been training to do now. They are listening to music and

:34:11. > :34:14.every so often there will be a communication from the bunker saying

:34:15. > :34:20.two minutes to go, five minutes to go. They will say, I heard you, and

:34:21. > :34:27.then they just have to wait for the launch now. Does your heart beat

:34:28. > :34:30.faster than near it gets? We have our hearts monitored during the

:34:31. > :34:35.launch and breathing rates, so I'm sure everybody's heartbeat will beat

:34:36. > :34:44.a bit faster. You are undergoing quite a bit of GeForce and it's

:34:45. > :34:52.lumpy and bumpy. That journey to orbit is under ten minutes. That's

:34:53. > :34:57.presumably a rough ride, is it? You feel the different rocket stages, so

:34:58. > :35:05.as the fuel is used up, the rocket gets lighter so the speed increases.

:35:06. > :35:11.When you jettison, you drop down to half a GB for the next stage kicks

:35:12. > :35:16.in some of lumpy and bumpy. 3.5 G is the most you ever feel, being pushed

:35:17. > :35:26.back into your seat. All of their physical training, it's all paying

:35:27. > :35:36.for them. I think you go from North to 25 times the speed of sound --

:35:37. > :35:41.you go from North -- zero. The speed of sound is an interesting factor.

:35:42. > :35:48.Its relative in some respects but you do eight: it is a huge speed.

:35:49. > :35:55.Before you go, can you tried to describe weightlessness for us? The

:35:56. > :36:01.most natural relaxing feeling you can imagine. Humans just adapt so

:36:02. > :36:06.readily to being weightless. You can just float in nothing, in a swimming

:36:07. > :36:10.pool, the water keeps you buoyant. If you're orbiting the earth, you

:36:11. > :36:15.just float through the air and you forget what it's like to stand on

:36:16. > :36:19.the floor, to feel the seats beneath you. Astronauts lose the hard skin

:36:20. > :36:23.on the bottom of their feet when they are in space for a long time.

:36:24. > :36:30.You quickly learn to move in a different way and people are trained

:36:31. > :36:34.for this in an aeroplane but never for more than 20 odd seconds at a

:36:35. > :36:41.time. Now you can experience that long time. Alan viewers are seeing

:36:42. > :36:43.pictures of you experiencing weightlessness. You have a huge

:36:44. > :36:55.smile on your face. It looks fantastic. Catching water? That's

:36:56. > :37:03.right. Superb. What was the most stunning moment for you on your

:37:04. > :37:06.trip? On your mission? For me, launches exciting but actually the

:37:07. > :37:12.launch itself over quickly and the people watching on earth, for the

:37:13. > :37:19.Arsenal, then continues. I spent two days on board Soyez and hopefully

:37:20. > :37:24.Tim will only spend six hours before he gets onto the space station. It

:37:25. > :37:28.is the docking when you open the hatch and float inside, that is so

:37:29. > :37:33.beautiful. You know it's going to be your home for the next months. We

:37:34. > :37:38.are getting nothing from the European Space Agency. They say that

:37:39. > :37:44.the rocket at Kazakhstan is now standing without a service structure

:37:45. > :37:49.attached to it. Ready to be blasted into orbit. Duelling is still

:37:50. > :37:54.ongoing. What does that mean, it is standing without a service

:37:55. > :38:00.structure? It basically means it's using its own electrical supply.

:38:01. > :38:05.Essentially, it ready for the gantry to be pulled back and then it will

:38:06. > :38:08.be free to launch so they are separating all other connections,

:38:09. > :38:13.the fuel has been in there for some time now and it's going to be

:38:14. > :38:18.working on its own. Helen, thank you very much. We have got about ten

:38:19. > :38:23.minutes to go so I'm going to let you go. Thank you for talking to us

:38:24. > :38:27.this morning. Helen Sharman, live from the science Museum. You can see

:38:28. > :38:32.the joy on her fate as she is recalling what happened to her back

:38:33. > :38:36.in 1991. It obviously clearly not something you forget in a hurry.

:38:37. > :38:42.It's great to share hit brother centrifuge because I've been on a

:38:43. > :38:47.centrifuge and experienced that GeForce Tim Peake is about to

:38:48. > :38:52.experience. -- it's great to hear her talk about centrifuge. I did it

:38:53. > :38:55.over three stages and they build it up over three times and to begin

:38:56. > :39:02.with, it's like a fairground ride and you feel the pressure. By 3.5 G,

:39:03. > :39:05.it's getting a little more uncomfortable. When the person in

:39:06. > :39:10.the control room was saying try and move your hand, I sort of went like

:39:11. > :39:18.that and I couldn't. I could barely move my hand. You feel that much

:39:19. > :39:23.pressure. We now know what they look like when they look 75 because your

:39:24. > :39:29.skin is pushed back. Does it feel like your stomach has detached from

:39:30. > :39:34.the rest of your body? No, I was like, more, more, more, I loved it.

:39:35. > :39:44.It starts to feel uncomfortable absolutely. Some more messages from

:39:45. > :39:52.viewers. 10.4 by the way. This is inside. Hang on.

:39:53. > :40:06.Obviously they are playing The Final Countdown. What else would it be?

:40:07. > :40:14.The launch is at 11.03, so don't go anywhere, about eight minutes away.

:40:15. > :40:20.There they are inside the capsule. They are breathing and their heart

:40:21. > :40:29.rate is being monitored as we speak. I spoke to an astronaut and he said

:40:30. > :40:34.his advice was make sure you enjoy it and look through the window.

:40:35. > :40:36.Coverage on the space mission continues now on BBC News with Anita

:40:37. > :40:49.McVeigh. You are watching our continuing

:40:50. > :40:52.special coverage on BBC News of the build-up to the moment when Tim

:40:53. > :40:58.Peake blasts off with his fellow crew members from the Baikonur

:40:59. > :41:01.Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on their mission to the International Space

:41:02. > :41:08.Station. These images of course as you can see, coming to us live from

:41:09. > :41:12.Kazakhstan. We are going to take you inside the capsule, the close

:41:13. > :41:19.confines, certainly very cosy, where major Tim Peake and his colleagues

:41:20. > :41:23.Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko, the Commander of this mission,

:41:24. > :41:33.offsetting ready for launch. You may have been able to see the flag on

:41:34. > :41:39.his arm. Very close confines for this six-hour journey as it will be

:41:40. > :41:43.to the International Space Station. Tim Peake, the first official UK

:41:44. > :41:49.astronaut. We are just under eight minutes to launch at 1103 GMT.

:41:50. > :41:53.Exactly the length of time, eight minutes it will take them to reach

:41:54. > :42:01.orbit and then, onwards on that six-hour journey to the IS S. 250

:42:02. > :42:08.miles above the Earth. We can cross now to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in

:42:09. > :42:15.Kazakhstan and join Sarah. Take us through what is going on in these

:42:16. > :42:21.final few minutes before launch. Well, really, these are the very

:42:22. > :42:26.final checks and preparations before they blast. In the last couple of

:42:27. > :42:31.hours, we have seen Tim Peake and his crew climb inside the capsule,

:42:32. > :42:38.the top section of that 50 metre rocket behind me here in Kazakhstan.

:42:39. > :42:43.Inside there, they have been running through their last checks. They have

:42:44. > :42:47.had music played to them. They chose tracks themselves which would be

:42:48. > :42:51.pumped into the capital for them to enjoy as they calm their nerves

:42:52. > :42:57.ahead of this huge flight. Before that, they had their last farewell

:42:58. > :43:02.to their family. They also put on of course their pressurised suits,

:43:03. > :43:07.spaces, to make their way to the launch pad but we are now of course

:43:08. > :43:10.in the final minutes before this flight. You could say it will be

:43:11. > :43:15.nerve wracking moment but Tim Peake is shown himself to be an extremely

:43:16. > :43:20.relaxed man right up until now and, as he walked out of a hotel this

:43:21. > :43:25.morning, he said he felt fantastic and was ready to go. This is the

:43:26. > :43:30.moment he had been preparing for, of course, for many years. For this

:43:31. > :43:34.mission, he's been training for 2.5 years, so it is absolutely on top of

:43:35. > :43:37.his game, he feels ready for liftoff, and he said to us before he

:43:38. > :43:42.is extremely excited about this mission. I think you as close to

:43:43. > :43:46.that market as it's safe to be because the force that come into

:43:47. > :43:52.play when it launches are quite incredible, aren't they? They are,

:43:53. > :43:57.and we have been told to expect a deafening roar as the rocket behind

:43:58. > :44:01.me blasts off into space. It obviously needs huge power to make

:44:02. > :44:06.it into orbit, so we are pretty much as close as you can safely get

:44:07. > :44:10.although, in a bunker belief the launch pad itself are the people who

:44:11. > :44:15.will control this blastoff, the ones who will press the button, who will

:44:16. > :44:18.make this Soyez rocket begin its journey into space. As far as I

:44:19. > :44:22.understand it, the people inside are pretty much on autopilot assuming

:44:23. > :44:26.everything goes well until they reach the International Space

:44:27. > :44:30.Station. It's going to be an exhilarating ride, nine minutes

:44:31. > :44:34.almost until they reach orbit from here at ground level, nine minutes

:44:35. > :44:39.before Tim Peake gets his first breathtaking view of Earth. That's

:44:40. > :44:42.the moment, he said he's looking forward to most. The minute of a

:44:43. > :44:48.breakthrough into orbit and he looks out the right window of his Soyez

:44:49. > :44:52.capsule back down at birth. He said everyone told him it's the best

:44:53. > :44:56.moment but obviously, it's not a moment you can ever prepare for but

:44:57. > :45:01.it's the one he wants to experience -- birth. Bear with us as we look at

:45:02. > :45:10.these live shots in closer detail of that rocket behind you -- planet

:45:11. > :45:14.Earth. We saw him a few moments ago inside that capsule. We are going to

:45:15. > :45:18.hear some of what mission controllers saying to the three

:45:19. > :45:27.astronauts and a cosmonaut as they take off. As we watch this launch,

:45:28. > :45:32.and watch the Soyez head towards orbit, we will, of course, tried to

:45:33. > :45:34.keep our charter to the minimum and really take in what is an

:45:35. > :45:35.awe-inspiring