Following 12-days onboard the ISS in 2006, ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang will return to the station in August this year with STS-128, a 13-day mission of the US Space Shuttle Discovery.
This will be the 30th visit of the space shuttle to the ISS dedicated to assembly and maintenance tasks. Discovery will transport a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Leonardo, in its payload bay. The Italian-built MPLMs are pressurised cargo containers used to carry science and storage racks to the ISS.
As mission specialist, Christer will oversee unloading of Leonardo and conduct experiments developed by scientists from all over the world, making full use of ISS facilities and in particular the European Columbus laboratory.
He will also carry out two spacewalks. The first will last 6-7 hours and will install a new ammonia tank, during which time Christer will travel for 20-30 minutes from the Discovery cargo bay to the truss element P1, while attached to the end of the 18-metre Canadian robotic arm. The second will include assembly tasks to prepare for the docking of Node-3 next year.