3 crew members en route to the International Space Station

A former Army aviator and helicopter test pilot, Major Peake is the first Briton to join the crew of the ISS.

It was freezing cold here at Baikonur Cosmodrome, but the evening sun cast a warm glow on the Soyuz rocket that was to take Tim Peake on his first flight into space.

Did you watch Tim Peake’s launch into space?

If you want to witness this historic moment with your own eyes, from the comfort of your own home, you can use the map below, courtesy of Esri UK, to check when the space station will be visible from where you are.

The current team have already spotted the International Space Station, while they will be designing their own mission patches too.

Estimates show the trip to the ISS should last for about six hours after liftoff.

Colonel Timothy L Kopra spent three months aboard the International Space Station taking with him a signed copy of the Bunnymen’s 1984 classic.

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

Today’s launch is particularly significant because it is carrying Peake, the first-ever British astronaut to visit the International Space Station.

Lift-off… Expedition 46-47 crew members ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and commander Yuri Malenchenko launch into space from Baikonur cosmodrome.

During his six months’ mission, he will conduct experiments aboard the ISS as well as carrying out educational activities created to get young people interested in science.

Thanks for all the good luck messages-phenomenal support! While up in space he will work on science experiments and also take part in the London Marathon on a treadmill in the space station in April. The thoughts and prayers of the whole country are with him and the crew, especially at this time of year.

Piers Sellers, a Sussex-born scientist who moved to the United States and flew three missions as a Nasa astronaut, said: “It’s wonderful to finally see an official United Kingdom astronaut go into space – something that all the rest of us have hoped for for years”.

The school has been holding a series of activities building up to the launch, led by Caroline Molyneux who is a member of the National Space Academy.