Major Tim Peake has blasted off into orbit on board the Soyuz space capsule on his way to becoming the first British astronaut to join the crew of the International Space Station (ISS).

The Argus:

The Russian rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in front of the world's media following weeks of preparation.

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

Images of the launch showed the trail of flames the rocket left in its wake as it sped up into the blue sky, before it became a tiny fleck in the distance.

A view of inside the capsule showed the astronauts in their space suits as the rocket lifted off.

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

He smiled at the camera, waved and gave a thumbs up as they sat back in their seats for the journey into space.

Zero gravity was reached by the Soyuz spacecraft after nine minutes of travel.

Major Peake and the crew will have experienced a feeling of weightlessness as they reached the third and final stage of launch before hitting orbit.

The so-called gravity indicator inside the capsule could be seen floating away in the on-board footage.

In London, crowds at the Science Museum cheered after the successful lift-off.

The trail of flames the rocket left in its wake as it sped up into the sky could be seen in the footage, before it became a tiny fleck in the distance.

The Natural History Museum tweeted a video of the moment groups of schoolchildren saw Major Peake's historic launch.

 

 

David Cameron tweeted a picture of himself watching the launch on television.

The Prime Minister said: "It was great to watch Tim Peake blast off on his mission to join the International Space Station."

The Government announced its national space policy two days before the mission, which included investments in space flight and microgravity research that will give an £11.8 billion boost to the economy.