ESA's astronaut Paolo Nespoli will be launched in a Soyuz TMA spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 15 December at 20:09 CET with Dmitri Kondratyev and Catherine Coleman for a challenging 6-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS) as members of Expeditions 26/27.
After the launch their orbit will be gradually raised and fine-tuned during the two-day cruise and they are scheduled to arrive at the Station on Friday evening, 17 December at 21:12 CET (20:12 GMT).
This will be Paolo’s second time aboard the ISS: he flew in 2007 on a Space Shuttle to deliver and install the Node-2 module.
Paolo’s MagISStra mission will be Europe’s third long-duration mission on the ISS. Between December 2010 and June 2011 he will be part of the ISS crew as a flight engineer.
In addition to his technical and operational duties, he has an extensive programme of scientific experiments and educational activities. He will use a novel 3D camera to show realistic views from inside and outside the ISS.
Download the 37-page MagISStra launch press kit (pdf) here. (or an Italian version.)
Multimedia resources:
- Latest photos from the Multimedia gallery
- Recent ESA-TV programmes for downloading:
* MagISStra mission in ISS, December 2010
* Paolo Nespoli soon in the ISS, November 2010
* Paolo Nespoli training for his upcoming mission, September 2010 - More (older) broadcast quality footage:
* An interview with Paolo Nespoli
* An interview with Simonetta Di Pippo,
ESA Director of Human Spaceflight
* Paolo Nespoli training in Moscow
* Paolo Nespoli training in Houston
* Paolo Nespoli training at EAC, Cologne
* B-roll material about Paolo Nespoli training footage
Contact persons:
Modal multimediów
Paolo Nespoli heads to Space Station on MagISStra mission
MagISStra mission: Information for the media
Follow @Astro_Paolo
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