|  | Guidoni gets to grip with the software | |
European astronauts train for Space Station
ESA astronauts are no newcomers to Shuttle travel and long-duration missions. Their recent history with the former Mir space station has provided a wealth of knowledge and experience to prepare them for a new training programme specifically geared up for the demands of the International Space Station.
Europe is already participating in the Station’s assembly flights. Once Europe’s Columbus laboratory is delivered, ESA will send astronauts up to the Station at least once a year to form part of the six or seven-strong permanent crews, typically staying on the Station for three months at a time.
The first Advanced Training Class for the ISS international partners started in April 2001, with astronauts from Japan, Canada, Europe and NASA taking part.
The European participants in the programme are those that have been chosen for ESA’s significant Columbus Activation Mission, and others on the first European increment missions.
| | Umberto Guidoni in training | |
ESA is actively preparing its astronauts for the challenging tasks that lay ahead: the inauguration flight of the Columbus orbital laboratory and subsequent stays of expedition crews onboard the ISS that include European crew members.
The advanced training lasts 18 months and is performed from the ISS partners’ various training sites in the USA, Japan, Canada, Russia and Europe in blocks of two months.
Periods between the key training blocks allow for proficiency maintenance, other specialised training, PR and other duties. This Advanced Training is followed by 18 months of specific training, which includes a physical proficiency maintenance programme.
Astronauts onboard the Space Station work between eight and ten hours a day on a wide variety of physically and mentally demanding and complex tasks.
These include operational tasks for the ISS systems and subsystems, communication with the ground, running the experiments on board, EVA activities, handling the robotic arms, and docking and un-docking manoeuvres of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, US Space Shuttle and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).
Amateur radio talks, video and music cassettes, computer games, books and other amusements are provided onboard for light relief and to help the astronauts cope with the long periods of isolation in confined surroundings.
ESA’s homebase for the European astronauts is the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Each ISS partner provides training for their contribution at their respective training sites. So, the advanced and mission is operated from all the international partners’ training sites, the advanced and mission specific training for European ISS elements and payloads, as well as ATV training will take place for all international astronauts at EAC in Cologne.
Guidoni's mission highlights website
(Based on the ESA STS-100 Newspaper by ESA Publications)
Last update: 20 October 2004 | 
