Wednesday 16 December 2015

Tim Peake (Astronaut)

Tim Peake official NASA portrait 
Its been a while since I have did a heraldry related post, and inspired by the launch of the ESA's Major Timothy Peak along with NASA astronaut Colonel Timothy Kopra and Roscomos cosmonaut Colonel Yuri Malenchenko, I thought I would design a coat of arms for Tim Peake the UK's first official astronaut (other Britons have went into space but were either privately funded or NASA personnel with dual US citizenship).
the blason of my idea for Tim Peakes arms is:
Arms:Sable,a bend cotised sinister alternative bleu celeste,azure, in the dexter chief an estoile argent.  
 Crest: On a terrestrial globe a lion salient or, winged  charged with the roman numeral of one. Supporting in the dexter forepaw an escutcheon: Azure, the Crosses Saltire of St Andrew and St Patrick, quarterly per saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, the latter fimbriated of the second, surmounted by the Cross of St George of the third, fimbriated as the saltire.
Motto: Inspiration & Discovery 
The symbolism of the arms black and a white star is obvious. The blue bends reflect the flag of the Army Air Corps, which is the corps Tim Peate has served in most recently as an attack helicopter pilot and test pilot.  The single star represents human space flight, the reason their is a single star reflects that Tim Peake has only flown one mission (the current one), I thought it would be a nice touch that more stars would be granted for more flights. The reason I used an estoile rather than a mullet is because an estoile is believed to originate the symbolism of the stars in the cosmos, where as a mullet is thought to originally symbolise spurs (although that's debated). 
The crest symbolises his achievement of being the first official British astronaut. The lion (often seen as the national animal of the United Kingdom) marked with a "1" and supporting a Union badge standing on a globe symbolising British symbols orbiting the planet. The wings on the lion hint to it flying in orbit and also reflect Tim's background in aviation. 
The motto reflect the mission of a British astronaut to advance science, space flight and exploration but also to inspire the people of the country and the planet. 
I thought a good heraldic badge would be an estoile charged with a Union badge defaced with the roman numeral "1" again symbolising the achievement of the first (official) British astronaut. This could be used in a standard:
I'm sure everyone would wish all the crew good luck on their mission. This is also probably the last post of the year and I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


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