British astronaut Tim Peake boards International Space Station

British astronaut Tim Peake has tweeted the Queen from space to thank her for her message of support as he blasted into orbit on board the Soyuz rocket on Tuesday.

Earlier Major Peake tweeted Sir Elton John from space, quoting his hit song Rocket Man apologising for his late response after spending his first full day on the International Space Station (ISS).

He quoted "Zero hour 9am", a lyric from Sir Elton's popular song Rocket Man, which tells the story of a lonely astronaut in space who is thinking about his family.

Major Peake will be separated from his wife Rebecca and sons Thomas, six, and Oliver, four, for nearly six months during the Principia mission.

British astronaut Tim Peake has tweeted for the first time since landing on the International Space Station.

Major Peake, who made the journey into space for the first time on Tuesday, said he had enjoyed an "incredible ride", and praised his commander, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, for his work during a tense docking at the space station.

Malenchenko docked the Soyuz capsule manually after its autopilot aborted an initial attempt.

A message from mission control at the time said: "Congratulations, we were a little bit worried from our side."

Tim Peake will undergo 10 gruelling exercise sessions each week while he is on the International Space Station to maintain his strength, bones and fitness.

The British astronaut will spend two hours a day working out in 23C heat on an exercise bike, treadmill and specially-designed weights machine.

A lack of gravity means that heat will not dissipate from Peake's body, causing him to get "pretty warm" during a workout.

His exercise programme will be reviewed each week by a specialist watching him from Earth.

Dr Jon Scott, who helped Peake prepare for life in space, said: "Exercise is one of the best counter-measures we have against all the changes that will take place in his body, so he needs to be ready to exercise almost as soon as he arrives on ISS.

"Bones are very susceptible to becoming thinner and weaker in space."

British astronaut Tim Peake and two colleagues have been welcomed aboard the International Space Station.

Their arrival followed a six-hour journey after blasting off from Kazakhstan.

ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers reports on a "spectacular" day.

Tim Peake hopes to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers through his mission to the International Space Station.

ITV News science correspondent Alok Jha reports on the excitement generated by the British astronaut's journey into orbit.