UK celebrates first ESA British astronaut in space

The UK was in celebration mode on Tuesday as its first British astronaut was shot off into space onboard a rocket to the ISS from a Kazakhstan base.

43-year-old Tim Peake took the landmark flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Soyuz space capsule along with Russian Yuri Malenchenko and American Tim Kopra, who will all spend six months on the station.

The former army pilot will conduct scientific experiments and carry out educational projects designed to attract young people into science on board the ISS. Lift off occurred from the same launch pad where, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. British Prime Minister David Cameron sent a message of support to Peake, saying that Britain would be “watching with wonder” over the coming months.  “It was great to watch Tim Peake blast off on his mission to join the International Space Station,” he later tweeted. On Tuesday NASA released a picture of a “pale blue dot” which showed the Soyuz travelling through space. The European Space Agency, where Tim Peake works, said the first booster had been fired, which will slightly change the orientation of the spacecraft.