Soyuz TMA-18M liftoff

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, commander Sergei Volkov and Aidyn Aimbetov were launched into space on 2 September at 04:38 GMT (06:38 CEST) from Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

The launch marks the start of ESA’s 10-day ‘iriss’ mission that will focus on testing new technologies and ways of running complex space missions.

The astronaut’s Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft was pushed into Earth orbit as planned accelerating 50 km/h on every second for the first nine minutes of their launch.

Their docking is planned on 4 September at 07:42 GMT (09:42 CEST) but they will not enter their new home in space until the astronauts on both sides of the spacecraft hatch to ensure that there are no leaks.

Follow the whole mission with live updates via the iriss mission blog and Twitter via @esaoperations

Connect with Andreas at: andreasmogensen.esa.int/