First British astronaut to arrive at International Space Station successfully docks

British astronaut Tim Peake gestures as his space suit is tested at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome, prior to blasting off to the International Space Station (ISS), on December 15, 2015.

It took a further six hours for the Soyuz spacecraft to catch up with its quarry, itself travelling at 17,500mph and orbiting the Earth at an average altitude of 220 miles.

Major Peake will be spending six months aboard the ISS, where he will monitor the effects of prolonged time in space on his body.

FRIENDS and former colleagues of astronaut Tim Peake gathered at the Aviation Flying Centre in Middle Wallop this morning to watch the live rocket launch of the mission to the International Space Station.

The capsule will remain attached to serve as a “lifeboat” if the ISS has to be evacuated in the event of a major disaster, such as a fire or collision with space debris.

The otherwise smooth journey ended with a slight delay at just after noon Eastern time as Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko aborted the automatic docking procedure and manually guided the spacecraft toward the station.

Malenchenko, who will celebrate his 54th birthday aboard the ISS next week, has already logged 641 days in space, while Kopra has chalked up 58.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wished Peake good luck in a video message in which he said that he would follow the space mission with “admiration and wonder”. Kelly and Kornienko are three months away from completing their one-year in space mission.

While Peake makes history as the first British citizen to visit the ISS, Helen Sharman is credited as the first British astronaut, traveling to space in 1991.

NASA flight engineer Timothy Kopra and European Space Agency engineer Timothy Peake, the first British astronaut, accompany Malenchenko as part of the new expedition. Peake is one of 24 ESA astronauts participating.

They joined three astronauts now on board the platform, which has been continuously occupied since November 2000.

At 2:25 p.m. EST (1925 GMT) today, the hatches were due to be opened between the Soyuz and the Russian segment of the space station.

Major Peake could be identified by the Union Flag on his sleeve.

During his free time, Peake plans on running the London Marathon (in real time) from space.