Tim Peake and crew preparing for launch

ESA astronaut Tim Peake and fellow Expedition 46-47 crewmembers, NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra and Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko are at Baikonur Cosmodrome preparing for launch to the International Space Station on 15 December 2015.

After arriving in Baikonur on 30 November, the crew are seen visiting their Soyuz spacecraft and launcher, performing a fit-check of their Sokol spacesuits, physically preparing themselves for space, during their leisure time in quarantine and on a visit to the Baikonur museum.

Named after Isaac Newton’s text Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Tim’s “Principia” mission will be the eighth ESA long-duration mission to the International Space Station. He will spend six months on orbit carrying out an intensive schedule of European and international experiments, in addition to numerous educational activities.

Follow Tim Peake and his mission via http://timpeake.esa.int