British astronaut Tim Peake dials wrong number… from space

British astronaut Major Tim Peake has apologised for dialling a wrong number and saying, “Hello, is this planet Earth?”.

In a milestone for global space travel and cosmic cable-laying, proud astronaut Tim Peake has achieved the dream and crimped off the first ever British length on an orbital space station. He later issued an apology, clarifying that he was not playing a joke on the woman, The Guardian reported.

The former Army major is the first Brit to join the crew of the ISS.

He attempted to place a call back home and asked, “Hello, is this planet Earth?”.

Tim Peake divulged this on microblogging site Twitter. Earlier this week, the space traveller was forced to leave a voicemail on his parents’ answering machine when they missed his call.

Millions of Britons have been following his mission closely since he became Britain’s first publicly funded astronaut and the first Briton to visit the space station. According to Peake’s European Space Agency profile, the 43-year-old is married with two sons.

It could be seen as a bright light crossing the sky after sunset on Christmas Day, soaring 250 miles over the French-Spanish border.

From the south east of England, the ISS will appear from the west and remain visible for six minutes before vanishing below the south-eastern horizon.

He later tweeted a picture of a Stoke City FC flag in the space station.

He is expected to fly over London at some point during Christmas Day.