Tim Peake ready for his mission to the space station

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and ESA astronaut Tim Peake shared a series of aurora photographs taken from the International Space Station on 20 January 2016. The dancing lights of the aurora provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the Sun.

Live coverage of the launch of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake to the International Space Station. The three-man Expedition 46 crew led by five-time space flier Yuri Malenchenko will ride a Soyuz rocket into orbit, speeding away from a Kazakh launch pad on a six-hour chase of the International Space Station. Liftoff is occurred on time at 1103 GMT.

Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, received a congratulatory phone call from Tim Peake aboard the International Space Station during celebrations in London to mark the 25th anniversary of her historic mission to the Mir space station.