Tim Peake: Twitter looks ahead to UK astronaut's lift-off

Maj Tim Peake will become the first British European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut to go into space, on Tuesday.

The former Army helicopter pilot and two fellow crew members will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on a landmark flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

To mark the launch, #BritinSpace, #Principia - the name of the six-month mission - and #TimPeake are all trending on Twitter.

Here, we feature some of the best of those comments.

@Astro_Matt27 tweets his best wishes to the Chichester-born astronaut:

@mccartanfi tweets her excitement ahead of the launch, scheduled for 10:30 GMT:

@angegarrod and @joannajury are also looking forward to the launch and using #BritinSpace - the highest trending hashtag ahead of the historic spaceflight:

Maj Peake will board a Russian rocket alongside fellow crew members Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko

Notable names from the world of sport and TV are also anticipating lift-off, with cricket commentator @Aggerscricket and adventurer @Benfogle adding their best wishes to their fellow countryman:

And just in case he hasn't had time to check the forecast in Kazakhstan for Tuesday, @bbcweather posted this helpful update for the intrepid 43-year-old:

Compiled by Stephen Fottrell.