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Le laboratoire européen Columbus quitte la Terre   Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 7 February 2008. Columbus, ESA’s advanced science laboratory in space, has been launched into orbit and is on its way to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). Columbus was on board NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis when it lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 20:45 CET, 7 February 2008. For this one-way trip to Earth orbit, Columbus is in the expert hands of a crew of seven astronauts, including two members of the European astronaut corps: Léopold Eyharts of France and Hans Schlegel of Germany.  European astronaut Hans Schlegel, from Germany, and the STS-122 mission crew during walk out. The seven astronauts are on their way to the launch pad. They walked out of the Operations and Checkout Building clad in orange pressure suits. The Astrovan takes them to the base of Launch Pad 39A where they climb into an elevator and ride up to the level where they enter the crew compartment. The STS-122 crewmates will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Lift-off is scheduled for 20:45 CET (19:45 UT), 7 February 2008.  ESA astronaut Léopold Eyharts, from France, and the STS-122 mission crew during walk out. The seven astronauts are on their way to the launch pad. They walked out of the Operations and Checkout Building clad in orange pressure suits. The Astrovan takes them to the base of Launch Pad 39A where they climb into an elevator and ride up to the level where they enter the crew compartment. The STS-122 crew will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Lift-off is scheduled for 20:45 CET (19:45 UT), 7 February 2008.  The Columbus laboratory is ESA's biggest contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). Delivered to ESA by EADS SPACE Transportation on 2 May 2006, this laboratory will provide internal payload accommodation for various scientific experiments. The Columbus laboratory is due to be flown on Space Shuttle Atlantis to the ISS in December 2007.  Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth's horizon, the updated International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin to separate after undocking on 5 November. The newly relocated P6 truss with its solar arrays, repaired during a dramatic spacewalk on 3 November, is seen in its permanent location at left.  Jean-Jacques Dordain has been ESA's Director General since 2003.  The STS-122 mission crew gives a short media speech during the second day of final training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in November 2007, in preparation for the STS-122 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew is participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of launch preparations. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarisation, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-122 will deliver European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Release date: 8 février 2008 |