As It Happened on 15 Dec 2015 -
Venue: The Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazasthan

You dont have to read this. The topic is purely for Nerds.

Rituals before lift-off are important, a Russian orthodox priest has walked around the rocket and cast holy water on to its fuselage and thrusters, a tradition that dates back to the mid-1990s and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Peake (the Lead Astronaut) and his crew also received a personal blessing before they left for the rocket.

In a more crude ritual, crew members urinate on the wheels of the bus taking them to the launch pad, a tradition said to have been started by the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, though it has never been witnessed by anyone outside an inner circle of astronauts.

The astronauts have taken an elevator to the top of the Soyuz rocket and will be strapped in as part of the final preparations before launch. Liftoff is three minutes after the ISS soars over the Baikonur cosmodrome, reaching orbit in just nine minutes.

The European Space Agency often asks the public to name forthcoming missions to the space station. More than 20 people suggested “Principia” after Newton’s seminal work in 1687 that laid out his laws of motion and gravity. The mission name was adopted, along with a mission badge that bears a falling apple.

The journey to their new home will take six hours, however, with the Soyuz orbiting the planet four times before their arrival at 5.23pm.

I wonder when Nigera Nay africa will have a Space station? What are we waiting for? Will all those profitable Lunar lands go to waste or cornered by the WEST.