Space tourist and circus entrepreneur Guy Laliberte is all set to begin his journey to orbit.
The Canadian billionaire will sit in the right-hand seat of the Soyuz craft which blasts off to the International Space Station (ISS).
Mr Laliberte has described his flight as a "poetic social mission".
He says he will make the ISS astronauts laugh during his 12-day stay, and produce a web event that highlights the issue of clean water for all.
He is accompanied in the Soyuz TM-16 spacecraft by Russian cosmonaut Maksim Surayev and US astronaut Jeffrey Williams.read more
