Astronaut Tim Peake calls wrong number from space

Sometimes you’re in the International Space Station and you make a call to Earth but you accidentally get the wrong number.

He wanted to assure the recipient it wasn’t a prank call… just a mistake that could happen to anyone 250 miles from Earth. Peake is also the first British ESA astronaut to visit the Space Station, the profile said.

Peake is accompanied on his mission by Russian astronaut Yuri Malenchenko and Timothy Kopra from the USA.

Meanwhile, flying low over the rooftops, it could easily be mistaken for Santa’s sleigh. Both NASA astronauts went outside the station to fix a stalled component called the “mobile transporter” which helps move a robotic arm up and down.

This is not the first time his attempt to call Earth has been unsuccessful.

He is expected to fly over London at some point during Christmas Day. People in southern England could see it in West at about 4.24 pm where it will be visible for six minutes and then disappear below the south-eastern horizon.

On board, Major Peake and the rest of the crew will be treated to a spectacular sight as their orbiting craft flies over the “Christmas lights” of European cities and towns after sunset.