Soyuz rocket with three-man crew blasts off to space station

The otherwise smooth journey ended with a slightly delayed docking at 6.33 am, NZ time, as Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko aborted the automatic procedure and manually guided the spacecraft toward the station.

Two other crew members are NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Briton Tim Peake. We also got the benefit of a moon rise which was attractive to see.

“The first sunrise was spectacular”. His first scientific endeavor is already underway: During his transit from Earth to ISS in the Soyuz rocket, Peake was expected to complete a survey on any head aches he experienced.

Three astronauts blasted off for the International Space Station on Tuesday, including the first official United Kingdom astronaut to reach the orbiting base. Larry is our main news editor.

Watching the action live at Chichester High School for Boys was 13-year-old Libby Connor from Bognor Regis, who said she felt “privileged” to watch Tim make history.

The trio will spend six months aboard the space outpost.

After leaving the Cosmonaut Hotel, where astronauts traditionally stay before missions, Peake honoured the long-standing tradition of space adventurers by signing his bedroom door.

During the mission, Peake said he would take part in the London marathon from space on April 24, harnessed to a running machine on the ISS – some 400km above Earth.

The crew will take six hours to rendezvous with the International Space Station, which passed directly over the launch site just before lift-off. The thoughts and prayers of the whole country are with him and the crew, especially at this time of year.

While he waits for an hour in the Soyuz capsule before lift-off, Peake’s chosen a three-song playlist to listen to: Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now“, U2’s “Beautiful Day” and Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars”.

“We join with his friends and family in wishing him a productive mission and a safe return to Earth”.

One British reporter at a pre-launch press conference told Peake that “you will be taking the pride and excitement of everybody back home, so much so that you probably won’t need any fuel to get into orbit”.