D/HSF: “Luca Parmitano is the story of a success”
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano has been assigned to fly on the International Space Station from May to November 2013 serving as flight engineer for Expeditions 36 and 37. ESA Director of Human Spaceflight, Simonetta Di Pippo, stressed her satisfaction at seeing the first astronaut of the 2009 group assigned to a mission.
“Luca is a member of the new class of astronauts, and he will be a perfect space ambassador to promote the benefits of human spaceflight on Earth,” said Mrs Di Pippo.
“His assignment brings the certainty that Europeans will be part of a new era of the utilisation of the International Space Station, an era with broader exploration ambitions,” she added.
ESA Director of Human Spaceflight reminded that “we are now in the process to extend the ISS operations until 2020, and we have also to think about additional flight opportunities for our astronauts, who perform our research in orbit. We need to trigger a collective effort among the international partners, the European industry and ESA teams on the ground”.
“Having followed closely the selection process among thousands of European candidates, I’m proud to say today that Luca is the story of a success. He brilliantly passed the first ESA basic training showing a huge team spirit and a strong leadership, all indispensable values for the success of the human spaceflight endeavour,” said Di Pippo.
