WATCH | Live: Nasa astronaut's first mission to International Space Station

Astronaut Nick Hague, who joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2013, is preparing to launch on his first space mission – a six-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS).

Nasa says Hague and Alexey Ovchinin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:40 South African time on a four-orbit, six-hour journey to dock to the station.

During their six-month stay on the space station, Nick and Alexey will work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science.

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