N° 5–2008: Follow the launch of ESA’s Columbus space laboratory live at ESA and DLR
22 January 2008
With NASA’s recent confirmation of the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on Thursday 7 February, ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel, of Germany, and Leopold Eyharts, of France, are set to deliver ESA’s Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.
Atlantis is now scheduled to lift off from launch pad 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida at 14:45 Eastern Standard Time (EST) / 20:45 Central European Time (CET).
Docking with the ISS is scheduled for Saturday 9 February at 12:23 EST (18:23 CET). Landing is currently slated to take place at KSC on Monday 18 February at 09:57 EST (15:57 CET).
ESA’s Columbus laboratory is the most important European mission to the ISS to date and the cornerstone of Europe’s contribution to this international endeavour. Once Columbus has been launched, attached to the Space Station and verified, ESA will become an active partner in the operations and utilisation of mankind’s only permanent outpost in space.
Columbus will be transported into Earth orbit in the Shuttle’s cargo bay, pre-equipped with five internal racks. Two of its external experiment facilities will be stowed separately in the Shuttle’s cargo bay and attached to the outside of the laboratory module structure in orbit.
German ESA astronaut Hans Schlegel will play a key role in two of the three spacewalks or EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity) scheduled for the mission. During the mission’s first EVA, Schlegel will help to install and power up the laboratory.
During his extended stay on the ISS, French ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts will play a key part in the installation, activation and in-orbit commissioning of Columbus and its experimental facilities.
Once in orbit, Columbus will be monitored from ESA’s Columbus Control Centre located at DLR’s German Space Operations Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich.
For the launch of this milestone mission, ESA and the German Space Agency, DLR, are organising coverage of the launch at various centres. ESA experts as well as industry representatives will be on hand for interviews.
The launch and the whole mission can also be followed on the web at: www.esa.int/ columbus. Media representatives wishing to follow the event at one of the locations listed below are requested to fill in the attached registration form (see accreditation form linked on the right) and fax it back to the place of their choice.
For further information, please contact:
ESA Media Relations Office,
Communication Department
Tel: +33(0)1 53 69 7299
Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690
Launch of the Columbus mission – STS-122
To be faxed back to the location of your choice.
First name:___________________ Last name:___________________
Media: ____________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
Tel:___________________________ Fax: ______________________
Mobile:_______________________ Email: ___________________
I will be attending the STS-122 launch on Thursday 7 February at the following site:
[ ] Germany - Main Launch Event
Location: ESA Columbus Control Centre at DLR/GSOC Oberpfaffenhofen
Address: Münchner Straße 20, 82234-Wessling, Germany
Opening hours: 19:30 - 21:30
Contact: Andreas Schütz, Tel: +49 30 67055 130, Fax: +49 30 67055 120
[ ] Germany
Location: ESA/ESOC
Address: Robert-Bosch Strasse 5, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
Opening hours: 20:15 – 21:00
Contact: Nicola Gebers, Tel: +49 6151 902 266, Fax: +49 6151 902 961
[ ] Germany
Location: ESA/EAC
Address: Linder Höhe- D 51147 Cologne
Opening hours: 19:30 - 21:30
Contact: Maren Stock, Tel: +49 22 03 6001 111, Fax: +49 22 03 6001 112
[ ] France
Location: ESA HQ
Address: 8/10, rue Mario Nikis, Paris 15, France
Opening hours: 19:30 - 21:30
Contact: Bernhard Von Weyhe, Tel: +33 (0)1 5369 7158, Fax: +33 (0)1 53 69 76 90
[ ] The Netherland
Location: ESA/ESTEC, Erasmus Centre
Address: Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Opening hours: 19.30 - 22.00
Contact: Michel van Baal, Tel: +31 71 565 3006, Fax: +31 71 565 5728
[ ] Italy
Location: ESA/ESRIN
Address: Via Galileo Galilei, Frascati (Rome), Italy
Opening hours: 19:30 - 21:30
Contact: Dieter Isakeit, Tel: +39 06 941 80 950, Fax: +39 06 941 80 952
[ ] Spain
Location: ESA/ESAC
Address: Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n Urbanización Villafranca del Castillo
Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid
Opening hours: 19:30 - 21:30 Contact: Monica Oerke, Tel: + 34 91 813 13 27 / 84 / 00, Fax: +34 91 813 11 39
For further information:
ESA - Media Relations Service
Tel: +33.(0)1.5369.7299
Fax: +33.(0)1.5369.7690