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posted Friday, January 22, 2016 at 9:56 AM EDT

 
 

On December 15th, 2015, European Space Agency's Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, and commander-cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft.

The launch marked the beginning of the trio's six-month Principia mission aboard the International Space Station. Over the course of six months, Peake will perform over 30 scientific experiments for the ESA and for the UK Space Agency.

To celebrate just over a month in space for Peake and the others, the ESA uploaded a 4K resolution time-lapse of the Soyuz spacecraft lifting off. Be sure to watch it in 4K!

The seven-ton Russian spacecraft arrived at the ISS in just six hours, achieving orbital insertion nine minutes after launch. The docking navigation system aboard the spacecraft actually failed, forcing Malenchenko to perform a manual docking.

For more information on the Principia mission and Tim Peake, see here

(Seen via DIY Photography