The year of the outer solar system: how space exploration reached new heights in 2015
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#YRT8)
Major Tim Peake became Britain's first career astronaut to make it into orbit - but scientific advances and Pluto discoveries were even bigger news
When the Soyuz rocket carrying Britain's Tim Peake blasted off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this month, he took much of the nation with him. He is not the first British astronaut and not even the first from Sussex, but he is the only one ever admitted to the European astronaut corps. That makes a difference. As a career astronaut for the European Space Agency, Peake is uniquely placed to inspire British children for many years to come. The launch was a historic moment, but far from the only highlight of 2015.
