Tim Peake’s Christmas message from Space

The traveller was forced to leave an answerphone message for his parents after calling them from the space station because they had ‘popped out’.

Astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra could be satisfied yesterday – all objectives for their spacewalk were completed as planned.

After engineers on the ground confirmed the rail vehicle was latched in place, Hopkins told the spacewalkers, “It’s in a good config”.

A Russian cargo resupply spaceship arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) carrying more than 2000kg of food, supplies and fuel.

‘That was pretty easy, ‘ Commander Kelly said, according to a live broadcast of the spacewalk on Nasa TV.

Luckily, the mission was quick and successful.

A handout photograph made available by NASA showing Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra on the spacewalk.

The Progress cargo ship filled with food and supplies launched from Kazakhstan about four hours before the spacewalk began. Kopra also retrieved some tools stored on the side of the station for a future spacewalk.

Peake, 43, sheepishly apologised on Twitter and insisted he was not playing a joke.

Nigel Peake said that they will have a cardboard cut-out of their son at the Christmas table.

U.S. crew members Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra moved a “rail car” on the outside of the ISS a few inches away from the position where it had stalled.