Russian capsule blasts off for International Space Station

A statement read: “We hope that Major Peake’s work on the Space Station will serve as an inspiration to a new generation of scientists and engineers”.

Peake is joined on this expedition by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and NASA astronaut, Tim Kopra.

(CNN) – Astronaut Tim Peake is the first British European Space Agency astronaut to arrive at the International Space Station.

Fire from the boosters of the Soyuz TMA-19M rocket cut a bright light through the overcast sky at the Russia-operated cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, after the spacecraft launched on schedule at 1103 GMT (17.03 pm local time), according to live television broadcasts.

Major Peake, 43, is the first fully British professional astronaut to be employed by a space agency.

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.

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”.

The previous crew, sent in September, had to take a longer, two-day trip due to the position of the $100 billion station at the time.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Peake disclosed that the International Space Station (ISS) will be treating the astronauts with a Star Wars screening to be projected onboard.

“It was a lovely launch”, Tim Peake told his family.

Millions around the country paused in front of TVs and computer screens Tuesday to watch a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Maj.

The crew will take six hours to rendezvous with the International Space Station, which passed directly over the launch site just before lift-off.

Huge Bunnymen fan, Kopra, made history today alongside the British astronaut Tim Peake who became the first official United Kingdom astronaut.

Peake’s voyage has helped millions of Britons rediscover an excited interest in outer space.

It will take the crew eight minutes and 48 seconds to reach orbit following take-off.

The three astronauts will return to Earth on June 5th.