The former army pilot will conduct scientific experiments and carry out educational projects designed to attract young people into science on board the ISS.
The UK was in celebration mode on Tuesday as its first British astronaut was shot off into space onboard a rocket to the ISS from a Kazakhstan base.
43-year-old Tim Peake took the landmark flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Soyuz space capsule along with Russian Yuri Malenchenko and American Tim Kopra, who will all spend six months on the station.
The former army pilot will conduct scientific experiments and carry out educational projects designed to attract young people into science on board the ISS. Lift off occurred from the same launch pad where, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
British Prime Minister David Cameron sent a message of support to Peake, saying that Britain would be "watching with wonder" over the coming months. "It was great to watch Tim Peake blast off on his mission to join the International Space Station," he later tweeted.
Today NASA released a picture of a "pale blue dot" which showed the Soyuz travelling through space. The European Space Agency, where Tim Peake works, said the first booster had been fired, which will slightly change the orientation of the spacecraft.
"We would say this is once in a lifetime, Tim hopes it won't be All the support from back home has been absolutely magnificent," said Nigel Peake, Tim's father. "I just think it's so wonderful that you've got all this international cooperation working to one end, medical and scientific experiments that are trying to benefit mankind, and they all work together happily and depend on each other, live together," he said.
To celebrate today's launch, schoolchildren in Britain aged 7-11 have been taking part in "The Astro Science Challenge" to perform experiments that complement those that Tim Peake will be performing during his mission.
More than 200 gathered at the Science Museum here to watch the launch. A further 9,500 spread across the UK have been awarded 'digital badges' to honour their participation.
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 "British astronaut Tim Peake poses before a news conference at the Science Museum in London")
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