Watching UK astronaut, Tim Peake, blasting off to start his 6 months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) was very exciting and it has been entertaining to watch the video footage of him adjusting to life in space.

Unsurprisingly, the ISS gets its power from the sun.  Attached to the space station is over an acre of solar arrays, which generate 84 – 120kW of electricity, creating the equivalent amount of power used by about 55 homes.  Along with this are eight miles of wire connecting the electrical power system.

The solar arrays on the ISS make it the second brightest object in the sky after the moon.

However, due to its trajectory, the station is not always in direct sunlight; during the eclipse part of its journey, the ISS is powered by nickel-hydrogen batteries which are charged up during the sunlit part of the space station's orbit.

We wish Tim Peake and the rest of his team all the best for their time in the ISS and remember to keep an eye on the sky on Christmas Eve (24th December) as this will be the next time we can see the ISS flying over.