The European teams supporting ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from ground control are getting ready for the launch of the Ignis mission. The Columbus Control Centre keeps an eye on ESA astronauts in space and European experiments running on the International Space Station at all times. Located in Oberpfaffenhofen, not far from Munich, the centre is filled with an array of screens that teams use to constantly monitor activities and experiments in real time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Its call sign is Col-CC.

Featured in this video are:

• Joao Lousada, ISS operations service lead, ESA
• Antonio Di Felice, Ax-4 deputy STRATOS flight controller, DLR
• Adrian Belli, Ax-4 lead STRATOS flight controller, DLR

The Polish project astronaut is the second of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space. 

Sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT), and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the mission will include an ambitious technological and scientific programme with several experiments led by ESA and proposed by the Polish space industry.

Follow Sławosz's journey to space on the Ignis mission website and discover more about the next patch to be hung on the walls of the Columbus Control Centre.