Ready to fly

ESA’s new generation of astronauts had a taste of space on the special Airbus ‘Zero G’ A310 aircraft earlier this week. The rookies were supported by experienced European astronauts and instructors during several parabolic flights in Bordeaux, France.

Parabolic flight campaigns recreate the 'weightless’ conditions similar to those experienced in space, and are often used to run science experiments, validate space instruments and train astronauts before spaceflight.

ESA's latest astronaut recruits flew through repeated parabolas that gave them brief bursts of microgravity. They flew through 30 parabolas per flight, with up to 22 seconds of microgravity at a time. In total, the passengers experienced around 10 minutes of weightlessness inside the aircraft at the top of each parabolic manoeuvre.

Standing by the plane, from left to right, are astronaut candidates Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Sophie Adenot, Raphaël Liégeois and Marco Sieber.

Project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski, member of the astronaut reserve John McFall and Australian Space Agency candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg also joined the ride in preparation for future spaceflight opportunities.

The campaign offered the astronaut candidates a glimpse of their future working conditions. A first flight helped them familiarise their bodies with the challenges of inertia and orientation in weightlessness. While movements do not require any effort, stopping and controlling one's motion need practice.

During the second flight the crew took turns on several training worksites to handle tools, such as screwdrivers, and moved along the cabin using tethers, handrails and spacesuit gloves. One of the exercises saw them performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques on others, better known as CPR.

Experienced spacewalkers were by their side. ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer shared their knowledge acting as safety and support operators during the flights.

Another veteran spacewalker was at the cockpit of the aircraft. ESA astronaut and pilot Thomas Pesquet placed the ‘Zero G’ plane on a parabolic flight path by pulling up the aircraft sharply and reducing the thrust repeatedly.

“If that’s not the perfect preparation for a flight to the International Space Station, I don’t know what is! All of them are naturals and just straight out enjoyed this first taste of what’s to come,” said Thomas on social media.  

The three-day campaign wrapped up a year-long basic training for the astronaut candidates. The astronaut candidates from ESA and the Australian Space Agency will soon become fully qualified astronauts eligible for space missions.

Watch the graduation ceremony live on ESA Web TV 2 and ESA YouTube on Monday, 22 April, at 9:00 BST (10:00 CEST) from ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Follow the incredible journey of ESA's astronaut class of 2022 with the ESA Explores podcast series for missions to the International Space Station and beyond.