Rocket man: Astronaut Tim Peake replies to Shrewsbury boy Harry, 6
Little Harry Lanyon has received a special message – from 250 miles up in orbit.
When he made a home-made rocket inspired by astronaut Tim Peake, he never expected to get a reply from space.
The six-year-old from Shrewsbury assembled it from cardboard tubes, tinsel and yoghurt pots.
His mother Sara was so impressed with his work that she tweeted the International Space Station, saying:
Shortly after she received a reply from the astronaut, who trained as a helicopter instructor at Shropshire's RAF Shawbury.
Major Peake said:
Sara said she and Harry did not expect a response, let alone from space.
She added: "Just sending a photograph into space was exciting.
"When we got a reply, Harry was already in bed so I went and woke him up to tell him. He was a bit sleepy and confused but when he understood, he said 'Tim? Tim-in-space Tim?'
"Now he can't sleep and keeps looking out of the window to wave at the International Space Station."
Major Peake is the first British astronaut from the European Space Agency to visit the ISS and is currently preparing to carry out a space walk on Friday.
Sara said she was very proud of her son whose , who is keen on all things to do with space, "as well as dinosaurs and other things little boys like". She said Harry's main passion was building things. She added: "In his own words, it's 'describing ideas without using words'."
