The next important step in Europe’s human spaceflight programme began on 4 July when the 115th space shuttle flight blasted off from Florida. On board Discovery was an international crew of seven, which included ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, 48, from Germany. Reiter will become the first European to live for many months on board the International Space Station (ISS).
An ESA astronaut since 1992, Reiter already has plenty of experience of life in weightlessness. Ten years ago, he broke the European space endurance record during a 179 day mission to the Russian space station Mir.
Docking of Discovery with the ISS is planned for 6 July at around 17:00 CEST (16:00 BST). On arrival at the International Space Station, Reiter will join the existing station crew – Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams. This will be the first time that three people have lived on the ISS since May 2003.
Reiter will take on the role of Flight Engineer 2 for the ISS Expedition 13 crew. He will be responsible for Station guidance and control, environmental control and life-support systems, crew health and safety, and spacewalks. He will also become the first European to take a spacewalk from the ISS.
During his mission, known as Astrolab, Reiter will conduct a series of European experiments. These will include studies of the human body, astronaut psychology, microbiology and radiation. Discovery is also delivering an ESA-developed freezer and a laboratory for growing plants in space.
