OasISS mission: watch the launch live on the ESA website
--------------------------------------------Scheduled Launch date:27 May 2009 05:34:00 EST
In May 2009, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will launch with the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft, to embark on the six-month OasISS mission to the ISS.
Not only will De Winne be a member of the first six-person ISS Expedition crew, he will also be the first European to become the commander of the International Space Station (ISS).
For De Winne, who is a member of the European Astronaut Corps, this will be his second mission to the Station on behalf of ESA, following on from the 12-day Odissea mission in 2002.
The mission marks many important milestones for ESA, European astronauts, European science and European control centres, as well as holding a great deal of significance for ESA in cooperation with its international partners.
Not only are these milestones of great importance in fulfilling the goals of the mission, they also hold great significance by building on current knowledge and experience for future exploration missions.
The arrival of De Winne and the other two members of the Soyuz TMA-15 crew at the ISS marks the first ever six-member ISS Expedition Crew, as they join the three Expedition crewmembers that are already on the Station: Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Padalka and Barratt arrived at the ISS as Expedition 19 crewmembers on Soyuz TMA-14 on 28 March 2009. Wakata arrived at the ISS on Shuttle flight STS-119 on 17 March 2009.
Until recently the ISS was only able to support a permanent crew of three. However with the Station nearing completion and the delivery of new Environmental Control and Life Support Systems, together with support from logistics spacecraft, a six-member crew has now been made possible. These logistics spacecraft include the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the Russian Progress spacecraft, the Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle (due for its first launch during the OasISS Mission) and the Space Shuttle.
The increase to a six-person crew will boost the time available for Frank De Winne and the rest of the crew to carry out important scientific and technological research in addition to their standard operational tasks. This is a visible sign of the increasing role that Europe is playing through ESA in human spaceflight and will provide a basis for future human exploration missions. duled for 27 May from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft is put into its initial orbit by a Soyuz FG launcher.
-- 
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's HII Transfe
r Vehicle (HTV) is captured by the International Space Station
robotic arm.
OasISS at www.esa.int
European Space agency at flickr.
--------------------------------------------Scheduled Launch date:27 May 2009 05:34:00 EST
In May 2009, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will launch with the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft, to embark on the six-month OasISS mission to the ISS.
Not only will De Winne be a member of the first six-person ISS Expedition crew, he will also be the first European to become the commander of the International Space Station (ISS).
For De Winne, who is a member of the European Astronaut Corps, this will be his second mission to the Station on behalf of ESA, following on from the 12-day Odissea mission in 2002.
The mission marks many important milestones for ESA, European astronauts, European science and European control centres, as well as holding a great deal of significance for ESA in cooperation with its international partners.
Not only are these milestones of great importance in fulfilling the goals of the mission, they also hold great significance by building on current knowledge and experience for future exploration missions.
The arrival of De Winne and the other two members of the Soyuz TMA-15 crew at the ISS marks the first ever six-member ISS Expedition Crew, as they join the three Expedition crewmembers that are already on the Station: Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Padalka and Barratt arrived at the ISS as Expedition 19 crewmembers on Soyuz TMA-14 on 28 March 2009. Wakata arrived at the ISS on Shuttle flight STS-119 on 17 March 2009.
Until recently the ISS was only able to support a permanent crew of three. However with the Station nearing completion and the delivery of new Environmental Control and Life Support Systems, together with support from logistics spacecraft, a six-member crew has now been made possible. These logistics spacecraft include the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the Russian Progress spacecraft, the Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle (due for its first launch during the OasISS Mission) and the Space Shuttle.
The increase to a six-person crew will boost the time available for Frank De Winne and the rest of the crew to carry out important scientific and technological research in addition to their standard operational tasks. This is a visible sign of the increasing role that Europe is playing through ESA in human spaceflight and will provide a basis for future human exploration missions. duled for 27 May from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft is put into its initial orbit by a Soyuz FG launcher.
-- The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's HII Transfe
r Vehicle (HTV) is captured by the International Space Station
robotic arm.
- First European ISS Commander
- First six-member ISS crew
- Undertake an extensive European experiment programme
- First docking of the Japanese HTV - Robotic Arm Operations
- Undertake an important programme of educational and promotional activities
- Attachment of Mini Research Module 2
- Increased experience for European Control Centres in light of future exploration missions beyond the ISS
- Attachment of Mini Research Module 2
OasISS at www.esa.int
European Space agency at flickr.
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