Emirati astronaut: 8 of the best photographs from the launch

Nasa's official photographer Bill Ingalls captured many of the finest images of the night

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  This incredible image by Nasa's official photographer Bill Ingalls captures up close the moment the Soyuz-FG rockets fire, lifting it and the MS-15 spacecraft its carrying into the stars. Bill Ingalls / Nasa

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  The rocket leaves the Gagarin's Start launch pad at 5.57pm UAE time (6.57pm Kazakhstan time) propelling the Soyuz into the sky. Bill Ingalls / Nasa

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  The rocket leaves the Gagarin's Start launch pad at 5.57pm UAE time (6.57pm Kazakhstan time) propelling the Soyuz into the sky. Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

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  BAIKONUR COSMODROME, KAZAKHSTAN - SEPTEMBER 25: In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches with Expedition 61 crewmembers Jessica Meir of NASA and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates September 25, 2019 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Photo by Bill Ingalls /NASA via Getty Images)

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  The rocket soars into the clouds moments after launch. Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

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  This image taken moments earlier shows how the launch pad functions, with the incredible heat from the boosters funnelled away from the rocket into a blast zone. Gagarin's Start has been used for Soyuz flights since 1961 but Wednesday's launch was its last, as it cannot accommodate Russia's new generation of 'Federation' space ships. Maxim Shipenkov / EPA

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  The Soyuz rocket is pictured in the early hours of Wednesday, before the launch. Soyuz MS-15 is the last space ship that will take-off from the Gagarin's Start launch pad at Baikonur. Bill Ingalls / Nasa

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  Hazza Al Mansouri appears calm and at ease as he walks to the rocket before take-off. Vyacheslav Oseledko / EPA

Spectacular images of Wednesday night's launch capture history in the making as the first Emirati blasted into space.

Gagarin's Start - the launch pad that sent Yuri Gagarin to space in 1961 - was also used for the last time.

It cannot accommodate Russia's next generation of Federation-class rockets and the pictures capture its final usage.

Many of the photographs are by Nasa's official photographer Bill Ingalls, who has shot space launches for three decades, often using remote cameras to get closer to the blast-off.

An image of his melted camera went viral on social media last year when he tried to take pictures of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.

Although the camera wasn't directly hit by the boosters, they started a grass fire that engulfed his equipment.