STUDENTS at Keighley's pioneering STAR Centre have received a special message from British astronaut Tim Peake.

He told them via social media to "aim high, don't ever give up and have fun finding answers to all your questions".

Staff and members of the public watched as the launch and subsequent docking of the Soyuz space craft was broadcast via the facilities at the centre, in the Leeds City College Keighley Campus.

"There was a good turnout to witness the astronauts leave the capsule and be greeted by the resident international space station astronauts," said Chris Stott, college head of business engagement.

Major Peake, with Russian Commander Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Tim Kopra, will spend six months on the space station.

The STAR Centre – which is equipped with a working mission control, planetarium, briefing room, space lab, astrobotics lab and planet scape – works with schools and offers team-building opportunities to businesses.