In addition to training ESA’s new generation of astronauts, EAC is also a growing training ground for international partners and private astronaut training. Since then, all have completed at least one flight to the International Space Station, including Matthias Maurer, who formally joined ESA’s astronaut corps in 2015 and flew on his first mission in 2021/22.ĮSA’s new astronaut candidates took up duty at EAC and started basic training on 3 April 2023.Īfter completing one year of basic training, the new astronauts will be ready to enter the next Space Station training phase and, once assigned to a mission, their training will be tailored to specific mission tasks. In May 2009, EAC selected six new astronauts who started their basic training at EAC on 1 September 2009. The ISS crew were trained on ATV docking at EAC before their mission to the Space Station.

That good training pays off was demonstrated with the docking of ATV Jules Verne in April 2008. During his stay he activated the laboratory and conducted the first experiments from the European microgravity science programme inside Columbus. Eyharts became the first European astronaut to fly a long-term mission on Columbus. Schlegel participated in one spacewalk during the STS-122 mission and was instrumental in the attachment of Columbus. Hans Schlegel (Germany) and Léopold Eyharts (France) brought Columbus to the ISS on the STS-122 mission in February 2008, where it was attached to Node 2. The attachment of Node 2 paved the way for the arrival of ESA's cornerstone contribution to the ISS, the Columbus laboratory.Ĭolumbus laboratory mock-up in the EAC training hall Paolo Nespoli (Italy) brought the European-built Node 2 connecting module to the ISS on the STS-120 mission in September 2007. This was the first time in the ISS eight-year history that two Europeans met together on the International Space Station.Ģ007 saw the beginning of the most intense period of human spaceflight activity in Europe. With the Space Shuttle’s return to flight in 2005, Europe’s engagement in human spaceflight featured historic moments with 2 missions in 2006: Thomas Reiter (Germany) was the first European astronaut participating on a long duration flight as ISS Expedition crew (flight engineer 2 of Expeditions 13 and 14), spending nearly six months on orbit for ISS operations and experiments in weightlessness.Ĭhrister Fuglesang (Sweden) joined Reiter on the ISS on a Shuttle flight in December 2006 for performing important EVA activities. In spite of the limited access to the ISS during the years 2003 through 2005 due to the Columbia accident, ESA managed to continuously fly ESA astronauts to the International Space Station with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.Įuropean presence in space and the progress of space research carried out by European institutions and companies could be secured. Since the EAC took its first steps, the list of missions completed by European astronauts and supported by the EAC has grown considerably.

In addition, the Centre provides public relations assistance for human spaceflight and educational activities, as well as promoting opportunities to industry for commercial experiments. The EAC Crew Operations Support (ECOS) is a multidisciplinary team composed of members and operational experts from different EAC teams such as Space Medicine, Space Training and Astronaut Operations.ĮAC has established its medical expertise for astronauts including preventive medicine, evidence-based medicine, nutrition and fitness. From the control centre at EAC, they work closely with operations teams at ESA’s Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Germany, the User Support and Operation Centres (USOCs) and space medicine experts. Specialised European Communicator and Medical Operations (EUROCOM) experts are responsible for all European voice communications with astronauts on the International Space Station.

It is also home to ESA's Astronaut Operations Team. Led by ESA astronaut Frank de Winne, EAC reinforces Europe's commitment to human and robotic exploration.įor astronauts and ground operations personnel, EAC is the training centre for all European-built ISS hardware, including ESA's Columbus laboratory and European payloads.

Nasa shop deutschland