Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 22 December 2006, marking the end of a successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew of seven on board Discovery included two record-breaking ESA astronauts: Thomas Reiter of Germany and Christer Fuglesang, the first Swede to go into space.
The Shuttle landing marked the end of Reiter’s second long-term space mission. 10 years ago he spent 179 days in orbit during a visit to the Russian Mir space station. His latest mission, known as Astrolab, began on 4 July 2006 and lasted for 171 days. With almost one year of space-time now under his belt, the former test pilot has set a new European record for the overall time spent in space.
During his time on the ISS, Reiter worked as the flight engineer alongside astronauts from America and Russia. Apart from his routine duties operating and looking after the Station, he carried out a full programme of scientific experiments and educational activities. During a 5 hour 54 minute spacewalk, he and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams installed new equipment on the outside of the Station.
Fuglesang also had a busy programme during his 13-day trip to the ISS. His flight included three spacewalks – the first time that an ESA astronaut had stepped out into space three times in a single mission. During more than 18 hours floating above the Earth, he helped to install a new section of the ISS, rewired its power lines and successfully freed a jammed solar array.
