N° 45–2016: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet arrives at the International Space Station

The trio was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan 17 November at 20:20 GMT and enjoyed a routine flight to catch up with the Space Station 400 km up.

This was the first launch of an ESA astronaut on an upgraded version of the workhorse spacecraft that has been in service for almost 50 years. Despite the modernisation, for the crew it was like spending two days in a small car. Throughout the journey the astronauts kept in radio contact with Moscow ground control.

After docking at 21:58 GMT, Thomas, Peggy and Oleg were welcomed aboard the Space Station at 00:40 GMT by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko and Sergei Ryzhikov.

The six will maintain the Station and work on scientific experiments that cannot be done anywhere else, exploiting the weightlessness that is unique to the space laboratory.

This marks the start of Thomas’s Proxima mission, named after the closest star to the Sun – continuing a tradition of naming missions with French astronauts after stars and constellations.

The mission is part of ESA’s vision to use Earth-orbiting spacecraft as a place to live and work for the benefit of European society while using the experience to prepare for future voyages of exploration further into the Solar System.

Thomas will perform about 50 scientific experiments for ESA and France’s CNES space agency, as well as take part in many research activities for the other Station partners.

This is the ninth long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut and Thomas is the last of ESA’s 2009 recruits to fly into space. A former airline pilot, he is the first French astronaut to visit the Station since ESA’s Léopold Eyharts helped to install Europe’s Columbus module in 2008.

The new arrivals will spend six months in space before returning in Soyuz MS-03 to land in the steppes of Kazakhstan. ESA’s Paolo Nespoli, backup on this mission, is readying himself for launch in 2017 shortly after Thomas returns.

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Connect with Thomas on social media via http://thomaspesquet.esa.int/ 

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of which 20 are Member States of the EU.

ESA has established formal cooperation with seven other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.

ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.

Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int

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