European Astronaut Corps

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The European Astronaut Corps is a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on the International Space Station (ISS). The European Astronaut Corps is based at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. They can be assigned to various projects both in Europe (at ESTEC, for instance) or elsewhere in the world, at NASA Johnson Space Center or Star City.

Contents

History

This section is an excerpt from European Space Agency § Formation and development.[ edit ]
Ulf Merbold became the first ESA astronaut to fly into space. Ulf D. Merbold.jpg
Ulf Merbold became the first ESA astronaut to fly into space.

At the time the ESA was formed, its main goals did not encompass human space flight; rather it considered itself to be primarily a scientific research organisation for uncrewed space exploration in contrast to its American and Soviet counterparts. It is therefore not surprising that the first non-Soviet European in space was not an ESA astronaut on a European space craft; it was Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek who in 1978 became the first non-Soviet or American in space (the first man in space being Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union) – on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, followed by the Pole Mirosław Hermaszewski and East German Sigmund Jähn in the same year. This Soviet co-operation programme, known as Intercosmos, primarily involved the participation of Eastern bloc countries. In 1982, however, Jean-Loup Chrétien became the first non-Communist Bloc astronaut on a flight to the Soviet Salyut 7 space station.

Because Chrétien did not officially fly into space as an ESA astronaut, but rather as a member of the French CNES astronaut corps, the German Ulf Merbold is considered the first ESA astronaut to fly into space. He participated in the STS-9 Space Shuttle mission that included the first use of the European-built Spacelab in 1983. STS-9 marked the beginning of an extensive ESA/NASA joint partnership that included dozens of space flights of ESA astronauts in the following years. Some of these missions with Spacelab were fully funded and organisationally and scientifically controlled by the ESA (such as two missions by Germany and one by Japan) with European astronauts as full crew members rather than guests on board. Beside paying for Spacelab flights and seats on the shuttles, the ESA continued its human space flight co-operation with the Soviet Union and later Russia, including numerous visits to Mir.

During the latter half of the 1980s, European human space flights changed from being the exception to routine and therefore, in 1990, the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany was established. It selects and trains prospective astronauts and is responsible for the co-ordination with international partners, especially with regard to the International Space Station. As of 2006, the ESA astronaut corps officially included twelve members, including nationals from most large European countries except the United Kingdom.

In 2008, the ESA started to recruit new astronauts so that final selection would be due in spring 2009. Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates before registration ended in June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. Of the applicants, 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing, which narrowed down the field to 192. After two-stage psychological tests and medical evaluation in early 2009, as well as formal interviews, six new members of the European Astronaut Corps were selected – five men and one woman. [1]

Current members

As of 2024 there are eleven active members of the European Astronaut Corps. Five were selected in 2009, one was selected in 2015, and the remaining five selected in 2022.

NameCountrySelectionTime in spaceMissions
Samantha Cristoforetti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2009 ESA Group 370d 5h 45m Soyuz TMA-15M (Expedition 42/43), Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68)
Alexander Gerst Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2009 ESA Group 362d 1h 50m Soyuz TMA-13M (Expedition 40/41), Soyuz MS-09 (Expedition 56/57)
Andreas Mogensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2009 ESA Group 208d 22h 34m Soyuz TMA-18M/16M, Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70)
Luca Parmitano Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2009 ESA Group 366d 23h 1m Soyuz TMA-09M (Expedition 36/37), Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61)
Thomas Pesquet Flag of France.svg  France 2009 ESA Group 396d 11h 34m Soyuz MS-03 (Expedition 50/51), Crew-2 (Expedition 65/66)
Matthias Maurer Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2015 ESA Group 176d 2h 39m Crew-3 (Expedition 66/67)
Rosemary Coogan Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 2022 ESA Group 0d 0h 0mN/A
Sophie Adenot Flag of France.svg  France 2022 ESA Group 0d 0h 0mN/A
Pablo Álvarez Fernández Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2022 ESA Group 0d 0h 0mN/A
Raphaël Liégeois Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2022 ESA Group 0d 0h 0mN/A
Marco Sieber Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 2022 ESA Group 0d 0h 0mN/A

All of the current members of the corps, other than the 2022 ESA Group, have flown to space and have visited the ISS. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is the member of the corps who has accumulated the most time in space with 396 days, 11 hours and 34 minutes. He is the record holder for all the European astronauts in history. The corps currently includes one woman, Samantha Cristoforetti, who formerly held the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. Timothy Peake, a member of the 2009 group, retired in 2023. [2]

2009 Group

On 3 April 2008, ESA director general Jean-Jacques Dordain announced that recruiting for a new class of European astronauts will start in the near future. [3] The selection program for 4 new astronauts was launched on 19 May 2008 with applications due by 16 June 2008[ citation needed ] so that final selection would be due spring 2009. [4] Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates as of 18 June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. From these 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing which led to 192 candidates on 24 September 2008. After two stage psychological tests 80 candidates continued on to medical evaluation in January–February 2009. 40 or so candidates head to formal interviews to select four new members to European Astronaut Corps. [4]

2022 Group

Recruitment for the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group took place over 2021–22 and added five "career" astronauts as well as for the first time a "reserve pool" of 11 astronaut candidates, and also a person with a physical disability through the "parastronaut feasibility project". [5] [6]

In June 2023, Marcus Wandt, originally a reserve astronaut, was selected for Axiom Space mission and transitioned to "project" astronaut. [7] This later was set in place for Polish reserve astronaut Sławosz Uznański.

NameCountryRole
Sophie Adenot [8] Flag of France.svg  France Career astronaut
Pablo Álvarez Fernández [9] Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Career astronaut
Rosemary Coogan [10] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Career astronaut
Raphaël Liégeois [11] Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Career astronaut
Marco Alain Sieber [12] Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Career astronaut
John McFall [13] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Parastronaut
Meganne Christian [14] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Astronaut reserve
Anthea Comellini [15] Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Astronaut reserve
Sara García Alonso [16] Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Astronaut reserve
Andrea Patassa [17] Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Astronaut reserve
Carmen Possnig [18] Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Astronaut reserve
Arnaud Prost [19] Flag of France.svg  France Astronaut reserve
Amelie Schoenenwald [20] Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Astronaut reserve
Aleš Svoboda [21] Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Astronaut reserve
Sławosz Uznański [22] Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Project astronaut
Marcus Wandt [23] Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Project astronaut
Nicola Winter [24] Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Astronaut reserve

The funding by NASA and Russia of the International Space Station is currently planned to end in 2030. Thanks to their involvement with NASA's Orion programme, ESA will receive three flight opportunities for European astronauts to the Lunar Gateway. [25]

Former members

There are 18 former members of the ESA astronaut corps. [26]

Some ESA astronauts were selected by other European agencies and then enrolled into the European Astronaut Corps in 1998.


European astronauts outside of ESA

Interkosmos

Ten Europeans became astronauts within the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program, which allowed citizens of allied nations to fly missions to the Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Mir space station.

Space Shuttle

NASA trained and flew astronauts from allied nations on the Space Shuttle, especially as payload specialists for scientific missions such as Spacelab. Prior to the foundation of the ESA astronaut corps, both the French CNES and the German DLR had selected their own rosters of astronauts, notably in preparation for the introduction of the ISS. The following people flew on various Shuttle missions. [a]

  1. ↑ Other European astronauts who flew on the Space Shuttle were transferred to the ESA astronaut corps, and are listed above.

Russian Mir missions

The following people flew on missions to Mir under agreements between their nations and Russia.

Space Shuttle missions

Astronauts from the European Astronaut Corps participated in several NASA Space Shuttle missions before the ISS era, in particular as Spacelab payload specialists. NASA considered the full-time ESA astronauts as payload specialists, but offered some the opportunity to train with its own astronauts and become NASA mission specialists. [27] (This list excludes missions to Mir or the ISS)

As Payload Specialists

As Mission Specialists

Missions to the Mir space stations

Astronauts from Europe have flown to Mir both on board Soyuz vehicles (as part of the Euromir programme) or on board the Space Shuttle. [28]

Missions to the International Space Station

European astronauts to have visited the ISS are:

Future missions to the International Space Station

Future European astronauts to the ISS are:

AstronautAgencyMissionLaunchReturnExpeditionLaunch DateReturn DateNote
Flag of Poland.svg Sławosz Uznański ESA (Project)Ignis [36] Axiom Mission 4 [37] Axiom Mission 4 VisitingQ2 2025Q2 2025Second ESA Astronaut on a private mission to ISS.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Closing in on new astronauts". European Space Agency. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Astronaut Tim Peake assumes ESA ambassadorial role". www.esa.int. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Clark, Stephen (3 April 2008). "Europe's new cargo freighter safely docks to space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Closing in on new astronauts". ESA. 24 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Astronaut selection 2021-22 FAQs". www.esa.int. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "ESA presents new generation of ESA astronauts". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "N° 28–2023: ESA proposes Marcus Wandt from Sweden to fly on a future Axiom space mission". European space agency . 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023..
  8. ↑ "Sophie Adenot". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Pablo Álvarez Fernández". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rosemary Coogan". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Raphaël Liégeois". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Marco Alain Sieber". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "John McFall". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Meganne Christian". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Anthea Comellini". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Sara García Alonso". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Andrea Patassa". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Carmen Possnig". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Arnaud Prost". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "Amelie Schoenenwald". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Aleš Svoboda". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Sławosz Uznański". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "Marcus Wandt". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  24. ↑ "Nicola Winter". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  25. ↑ Positive signs for Europe as ESA goes forward to the Moon
  26. ↑ "European astronauts in new functions". ESA. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  27. ↑ Croft, Melvin; Youskauskas, John (2019). Come Fly with Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program. Outward Odyssey: a People's History of Spaceflight. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 61–63. ISBN   9781496212252.
  28. ↑ "European Manned Spaceflight Patches" (PDF). ESA. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  29. ↑ "The iriss name and logos". ESA. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "ESA mission name for astronaut Tim Peake: Principia F". ESA. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Thomas Pesquet closer to space with mission name Proxima". ESA. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  32. ↑ "Third spaceflight for astronaut Paolo Nespoli". ESA. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "Introducing Huginn". ESA. 18 August 2022.
  34. ↑ "Muninn Mission Patch and Name". ESA. 16 June 2023.
  35. ↑ "Axiom Space Announces Astronauts for Third Mission to ISS". Axiom Space. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  36. ↑ https://polsa.gov.pl/wydarzenia/ignis/
  37. ↑ "Axiom Mission 4 to ISS will include India, Poland, Hungary". Axiom Space. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

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