Space Expo greeting for André Kuipers
Yesterday over 700 people attended ESA's DELTA Mission launch event held at Space Expo in Noordwijk. Participants watched events live from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, culminating in a perfect launch at 05:19 CEST (03:19 UT).
A photo taken of the enthusiastic crowd at Space Expo will be emailed to the International Space Station to greet Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers when he arrives there early on Wednesday morning.
Special guests at the launch event included Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight, Mr Jörg Feustel-Buechl, and His Royal Highness Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands, recently appointed as a director at TNO Space. The Prince, who studied Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology, attended in a professional capacity.
"I am convinced that space activities advance innovation in a wide variety of fields," said Prince Johan Friso. "Especially human spaceflight like now with the DELTA Mission with André Kuipers. This mission will result in new scientific and technological understanding, which will in the mid- and longer term always contribute to the well being of all of us here on Earth."
