Five days before the launch of German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter mission to the International Space Station of up to six months, this Video News Release provides a concise overview of the forthcoming Shuttle flight, and the first European long-duration mission on the International Space Station.
This VNR is produced from a perspective of a non-German audience. The sound bites by Reiter and by former ESA astronaut Reinhold Ewald are in English.

The Astrolab Mission
A-Roll
10:00:30 (ISS in orbit, GVs Reiter & Lindsay at NASA, GVs Reiter and Lindsay train onboard shuttle simulator) A German astronaut will shortly begin the first European long-term stay onboard the International Space Station. Thomas Reiter, whoís been part of ESAís astronaut corps since 1992, will travel to the station as part of a seven-strong space shuttle Discovery crew commanded by NASAís Steve Lindsay. The mission is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral on July 1 st.
10:00:57 (mix to GVs Reiter onboard Mir) A veteran of the Russian space station Mir, Reiter has already clocked 179 days in space. During his mission ñ known as Astrolab ñ heíll join an existing two-man crew and stay onboard the station for up to six months, making him the new European record holder for time spent in orbit.
10:01:17 SOT Thomas Reiter, ESA astronaut (in vision): ""I think I know how it feels to be half a year in space ñ I am very excited about the work, despite the d