The first picture of Peake with his fellow astronauts was released by the European Space Agency, which welcomed him on board in a post on social media.
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Tim Peake is the 221st person to live aboard the International Space Station, where his working day will be filled with studies in physiology, biology, space science, fundamental physics, materials science and Earth observation.
“I find all these things fascinating, and there are knock-on benefits for our ageing population”.
The latter two have been on the space station since March and are on a year-long mission.
“We hope that Major Peake’s work on the Space Station will serve as an inspiration to a new generation of scientists and engineers”.
Commander Yuri Malenchenko manually controlled the approach and docking process.
Well-wishers gathered waving Union Flags, cheering and shouting “Go Tim” as Maj Peake and his two crew companions departed from the Cosmonaut Hotel for their flight.
In this photo provided by NASA, the Russian Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft that will carry new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) is fixed vertical at the launch pad in the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015.
It was due to take the crew eight minutes and 48 seconds to reach orbit following take-off from Baikonur ahead of the six-hour trip to the ISS where they will spend the next five and a half months.
Speaking about the launch, his wife Rebecca said: “Wasn’t it an awesome sight?”
His first scientific task is already underway: During his transit from Earth to ISS in the Soyuz rocket, Peake was expected to fill out a questionnaire on any headaches he experienced. And since then, several Brits with dual citizenship have gone into space as part of other countries’ space programs, or as part of privately-funded missions. The hatch was opened at 7.58pm, United Kingdom time.
David Cameron sent a video message of congratulations to Major Peake saying that everyone in Britain would be watching his six month mission with “admiration and wonder”.
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“We’ll be enjoying the fantastic view of planet Earth and our thoughts will be with everyone on Earth enjoying Christmas and with our friends and family”.
