Revealed: Astronaut Tim Peake's time in Shropshire
He's trained all his life for the moment he went into space – and Shropshire has played its part as well.
Major Tim Peake is a graduate of RAF Shawbury, where he learned to fly helicopters.
And yesterday the British astronaut along with Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Tim Kopra emerged from the Soyuz capsule and joined their new colleagues on board the International Space Station.
Tensions rose as there were difficulties in manoeuvring the capsule into position.
Staff at the airbase watched the rocket launch, together with the docking of the Soyuz spacecraft.
Members of the Shropshire Astronomical Society today say they hope valuable scientific research will come from Major Peake's trip.
They also expect a big rise in interest in space and the stars, especially with Major Peake's Shropshire links.
Society member Ron Iremonge said: "It is a tremendously exciting project and he has got a lot of important work to do while he is up there. I hope a lot of good scientific research will come from it.
"It could well generate more interest about space from people in this country.
"The BBC series Stargazing Live does a lot to create interest already and the fact Tim Peake is now in orbit will build on that.
"Whether mankind is destined to travel throughout space, I think there is a lot of doubt, largely to do with the problems with radiation.
"Everything has got to work 100 per cent and there can't afford to be any failures."
Major Peake was today getting accustomed to life on the International Space Station and preparing to get to work as he starts his six-month stint.
The rocket carrying Major Peake, who is making history as the first official UK astronaut to travel to the ISS, launched from Kazakhstan.
Shawbury station commander, Group Captain Jason Appleton said: "RAF Shawbury is proud to have played a part in the flying training of Tim.
He qualified as a helicopter instructor on May 28 in 1998 at our Central Flying School.
He said: "It is great that he has a link to Shropshire.
"All the personnel at RAF Shawbury wish him good luck for his six-month mission. We will be following his progress with great interest and wish him a safe return to earth next year."
According to the European Space Agency, both the Soyuz capsule and the ISS were visible in the sky shortly before the docking procedure last night, after which Major Peake and his crew mates were welcomed aboard the ISS.
Mr Peake will spend much of his six months on board the ISS conducting scientific experiments and carrying out educational projects designed to attract young people into science.
Helen Sharman became the first British citizen to travel to space when she visited the Soviet space station Mir in 1991.
But Major Peake is the first to travel to the ISS – and while Ms Sharman stayed in space for eight days, he won't be back until the middle of next year.
The 43-year-old smiled broadly and gave a thumbs up to in-flight cameras as the Soyuz rocket blasted off with 422.5 tonnes of thrust – equivalent to 26 million horse power.
After one minute the rocket was soaring upwards at 1,000mph and, one minute later, the four first-stage boosters strapped around the rocket were jettisoned.
Earlier, Major Peake said goodbye to his family and friends including his wife, Rebecca, and two sons, Thomas, six, and Oliver, four.
Sitting on the shoulders of his grandfather, Tim's youngest son cried loudly, saying: "I want to go with daddy."
After the craft entered orbit, relatives and friends cheered and hugged.
Major Peake's wife Rebecca was heard to say: "Wasn't it an amazing sight? I had the biggest smile on my face."
The former Army major is the first Briton to join the crew of the ISS and is employed by Esa. On arrival, he and his two companions will join the trio already on board, including Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly who is spending a year on the orbiting station as part of a medical research programme.
Other Britons who have flown into space have done so either as private individuals – Richard Garriott and Mark Shuttleworth – or by taking US citizenship – the Nasa astronauts Piers Sellers and Nicholas Patrick.
Another British-born Nasa astronaut, Michael Foale, already had dual citizenship through his US mother.
Yesterday's launch was from the same place where Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961.
