Space Forum / Space Station / January 2007

A French astronaut soon on the ISS

http://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/20070125.FIG000000025_un_astronaute_francais_bie
ntot_sur_l_iss.html

MARC MENNESSIER.
Published on January 25, 2007
Brought up to date on January 25, 2007: 08h29

Léopold Eyharts will remain two months, this autumn, on board international
space Station (ISS).

INFORMATION is not yet official but Jean-Jacques Dordain, the general
manager of the European space Agency (ESA), confirmed day before yesterday
evening in margin of the meeting of the chiefs of the agencies partners of
the international space Station (ISS) : the French astronaut, Léopold
Eyharts will take seat, next October, on board the Discovery shuttle which
must forward the scientific module European Columbus to the ISS.

Former fighter pilot, 48 years old, Léopold Eyharts will be the first French
with going in space since Philippe Perrin, in June 2002. It will be also its
second mission, nine years after having remained three weeks on Mir, the old
Russian orbiting station, in February 1998.

This time Léopold Eyharts will remain two months in orbit, with nearly 400
km of altitude. " It Swill era charged to ensure the startup of Columbus ",
specified M. Dordain. A second European astronaut, the German Hans Schlegel,
will also take part in this mission STS-122, considered to be crucial for
space Europe.

A Pharaonic building site

Of a cost estimated at 880 million euros, supported mainly by Germany (41
%), Italy (25 %) and France (21 %), the Columbus laboratory will make it
possible to realize uninterrupted, and either only step by step, of the
scientific experiments in microgravity in varied fields (biology, dynamics
of the fluids, sciences of materials).

After having known many misadventures (it had at the origin being launched
in 1992...), this imposing module of 13 tons, will make it possible to raise
the ESA with the row of " joint owner " with whole share of the ISS, at the
sides of the Americans, the Russians, the Canadians, then of the Japanese
whose Kibo laboratory will be fastened at the station in December 2007.

The meeting of the branch managers also made it possible to endorse the
calendar of assembly of the ISS, particularly tight this year. This
Pharaonic building site must be finished in 2010, date on which the American
shuttles will cease flying. The station is designed to function at least
until 2015 and must be used to prepare the future missions inhabited towards
the Moon and Mars.