Denmark's first astronaut heads to space

Denmark’s first astronaut has blasted off into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket bound for the International Space Station.

Andreas Mogensen is part of a three-man crew which includes veteran Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and the third ethnic Kazakh in space, Aidyn Aimbetov.

One of Mogensen’s jobs will be to test new equipment on Danish-made exercise bikes designed to help astronauts battle the negative impact of weightlessness.

Aimbetov is taking dried mare’s milk and traditional Kazakh cheese to orbit, both popular products among nomadic cultures of Central Asia.

The Soyuz rocket will take two days to the reach the ISS, rather than a six-hour approach usually taken in recent years.