Tim Peake's rocket docks safely with the International Space Station

It spent just over 30 minutes completing its fly-around as the astronauts on-board made sure every part of the capsule was precisely aligned with the station, while travelling at a speed of 20-30 centimetres per second.

Tensions rose as there were difficulties in manoeuvring the capsule into position. Yuri took manual control and backed the capsule away before making a second attempt to re-align it with the station's docking port.

This put the docking behind its scheduled time of 17.23 GMT by just over 10 minutes.

Live commentary streamed from the European Space Agency's website during the docking process said the complications would probably make a "memorable" moment for Major Peake, now the first fully British professional astronaut to be sent into space.

Despite the safe landing, the team will have to wait around two hours before they can leave the capsule as safety checks are carried out and air pressure is equalised.

The 305-tonne Soyuz launch rocket took off into a clear sky from the same spot at the Baikonur Cosmodrome where the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, was shot into orbit in 1961.

Prior to docking, the team had to catch up with the space station, which travels at 17,500mph at an average altitude of 220 miles.

Major Peake's mission, called Prinicipia in homage to Sir Isaac Newton's ground-breaking text on gravity and motion, will last almost six months.

Once in space, Major Peake and the other crew members moved from the cramped middle section of the Soyuz space capsule into the slightly more spacious spherical "orbital module" which attaches to the space station.

During the final approach, a docking probe on the end of the Soyuz was inserted into a cone on the ISS. The probe then retracted, bringing the two vehicles together, and a series of hooks and latches secured the capsule in place.

The capsule remains attached to serve as a "lifeboat" if the ISS has to be evacuated in the event of a major disaster, such as a fire or collision with space debris.

Previous "Brits in Space" have either been US citizens or had dual citizenship, or been on privately-funded or sponsored trips.

Major Peake is employed by the European Space Agency and sports a Union flag on his sleeve.

Members of Major Peake's family gathered in a local cinema to watch live relayed pictures of the Soyuz capsule approaching the space station.

There was a nail-biting 10 minutes after the automated docking procedure had to be aborted and Commander Yuri Malenchenko steered the spacecraft in manually using a cross-hair targeting site.

"Capture" was confirmed at 5.33pm UK time.

Major Peake's mother, Angela, who was in the audience said: "I'm feeling relieved. I wasn't really tense, I just feel quite reassured by those around me - they have a lot of experience."

Asked what it felt like to watch the launch, she said: "It was fantastic, but quite emotional as you can imagine."

Her husband Nigel said of the docking: "It was great to watch. I didn't feel worried with a commander like Yuri.

"They know what they are doing."

Major Peake's wife, Rebecca, and their two young sons are expected to make an appearance in a hour's time when the hatch is opened at the cinema screening and a communication link is set up with the crew.

Guests at the cinema toasted the mission with Champagne. Among them was UK Space Agency chief executive David Parker, who said of the launch: "It was the most impressive rocket launch I've seen.

"I've seen a few, but they were further away. Here, you're amazingly close and it's just a fantastic sight.

"It was actually unbelievable. I almost couldn't believe it because this was something we've dreamed, hoped, planned and worked for for such a long time."

Page 6: 18:58

Esa director general Jan Woerner said: "Today for us is a very great day because it's a great day for the European Space Agency. It shows again that the model of Esa - to have international cooperation - that this is the right way.

"In this case, we have a European astronaut of British nationality together with a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut in a tiny Soyuz capsule, which I always compare with a toilet in an aeroplane.

"They are working and travelling together - and because the docking was not working on the first trial, they have to manage. It shows that cooperation in space is possible and it should be a role model for what we do on Earth.

Asked if he could foresee more British astronauts, he said: "Very simply, there is no British astronaut, but only European astronauts of British nationality.

"Of course, if the member states of Esa are supporting future human space flights, maybe even more, then we can look for new astronauts, maybe also female astronauts.

"Of course, nobody knows whether there will be some more British in that corps."