On December 15, 2015 at 17:33 UTC the "Soyuz TMA-19M” spacecraft docked with the Russian "Rassvet” (MIM-1) module of the International Space Station. Due to a malfunction in automatic docking mode, the docking was performed manually by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Commander of the "Soyuz TMA-19M”. The spacecraft delivered three new members of Expedition 46 to the ISS, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, American astronaut Timothy Kopra and British astronaut Timothy Peake. The new comers joined current ISS expedition members – Russian cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Kornienko as well as American astronaut Scott Kelly to form Expedition 46 crew of 6 members.

Timothy Peake became the first British national aboard the ISS. Peake’s launch will mark the first ever time that an “official” government-backed British astronaut, representing the UK, has been into space, and thus his mission marks a huge moment for UK involvement in human spaceflight. Briton Helen Sharman became the first UK national to fly in space in 1991. However, she flew as part of a privately-funded commercial experiments program to the Russian “Mir” space station, and as such was not sanctioned by the British government to fly on behalf of UK.