ESA astronaut André Kuipers on his way to the International Space Station

After their launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 13:16 GMT (14:16 CET) today, ESA astronaut André Kuipers and crewmates Oleg Kononenko and Don Pettit are circling Earth every 90 minutes aboard the Soyuz TMA-3M spacecraft as they make their way to the International Space Station.

During the next two days, the spacecraft will circle the globe 35 times, performing three major engine burns as its orbit is adjusted for docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, 23 December at 15:22 GMT (16:22 CET), according to current planning.

With their arrival, the Space Station will resume full operations – the occupancy has been reduced to three for about three months as a result of the Progress cargo vessel launch mishap in August.

For more: ESA Portal - ESA astronaut André Kuipers on his way to the International Space Station