Lift Off!

From the historic Royal Institution, space doctor Kevin Fong takes us on a ride from launch to orbit and the cosmos beyond for the annual children's Christmas Lectures. And there's help direct from outer space as Britain's first astronaut on the International Space Station, Tim Peake, dials in.

In the first lecture, Kevin explores and probes second by second what it takes to 'lift off' into space. With Tim only days into his six-month mission, he helps Kevin answer what keeps astronauts safe and on track as they are propelled into orbit.

How do you control the energy of 300 tonnes of liquid fuel? What happens to your body if you don't wear a spacesuit? And how do you catch up with a space station travelling at 17,500 mph to finally get inside?

With explosive live experiments, guest astronauts in the lecture theatre, and planetary scientist Monica Grady direct from the launch pad in Kazakhstan, we learn all this and more as those thrilling minutes of lift off are recreated.