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In the Footsteps of Columbus European Missions to the International

J o h n O ’ S u l l i v a n

In the Footsteps of Columbus

European Missions to the International Space Station John O’Sullivan County Cork Ireland

SPRINGER-PRAXIS BOOKS IN

Springer Praxis Books ISBN 978-3-319-27560-4 ISBN 978-3-319-27562-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-27562-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016937338

© Springer International Publishing 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

Cover design: Jim Wilkie Project Editor: David M. Harland

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland To Mary and Lily Contents

F o r e w o r d ...... viii Preface ...... xi Acknowledgements ...... xv About the author ...... xvi Acronyms ...... xvii

Part 1: Background

1 Before ISS ...... 2 2 ...... 11

Part 2: Missions 3 STS-100 ...... 20 4 Andromède ...... 36 5 ...... 55 6 STS-111 ...... 68 7 Odissea ...... 81 8 Cervantes ...... 102 9 D E L T A ...... 122 10 Eneide ...... 154 11 Astrolab ...... 170 12 Celsius ...... 204 13 Esperia ...... 225 14 Columbus I...... 239 15 Columbus II ...... 268

vi Contents vii

16 Oasiss ...... 276 17 Alissé ...... 296 18 Magisstra ...... 306 1 9 D A M A ...... 325 20 Promisse ...... 338

The next generation ...... 369

Bibliography ...... 371

Appendices ...... 373

Index ...... 377 Foreword

While working at ESA/ESTEC in Noordwijk in the 1990s, I witnessed the work per- formed on the APM, the Attached Pressurized Module, never realizing that several years later I would be selected as a European to work with the fi nal result of all that effort on the International Space Station. It was a great honour to perform my tasks in for the benefi t of the people on our planet. I was privileged to work with very passionate and dedicated people at the ESA centres and European industries and institutes. Together, we could do a lot of ‘good work’. But not only that. is doing incredibly well at achieving a common goal in human space fl ight. Floating in a state of weightlessness aboard the International Space Station, I often went from one European contribution to another. In the span of several hours I could participate in unloading a docked ATV, do an ESA experiment aboard the Russian module, undertake a photo session in the Cupola, work with cargo in an attached MPLM, install an experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) in the US Destiny lab and put samples in the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freeze for ISS (MELFI) in the Japanese Kibo module, before ending my day with a press conference in the Columbus module. ESA is clearly present everywhere in the station and that made me proud. By now, quite a few ESA have fl own to the International Space Station. As an ISS partner, ESA started to send up her astronauts in the and later with the when her astronauts also served on long duration ISS crews. Additionally, there were several short duration Soyuz visiting fl ights prior to the attachment of the Columbus module. Regardless of the length of their missions, European astronauts performed a wide selection of tasks, ranging from construction, maintenance and repairs, to experiments, education, outreach, operating robotic arms, spacewalks and docking visiting supply craft. One day during my long duration presence in the International Space Station, working behind a rack in the Columbus module, I heard the noise of metal; yet, it seemed as if it was the creaking of wood caused by the ocean waves on one of Christopher Columbus’ wooden ships crossing the oceans centuries ago. I realized I was in an explorer’s ship too, but now in the ‘ocean of space’.

viii Foreword ix

André Kuipers. (Walter Kallenbach) x Foreword

This book is primarily about the so called ‘second generation’ of ESA astronauts. My generation. Those who worked on the ground and in space for the International Space Station. Enjoy this very informative book about a great technological, scientifi c and human adventure. It is not only full of facts and fi gures about the different missions, spacecraft and experiments but also includes the great personal stories of those astronauts, their road to space, and living and working on the International Space Station.

André Kuipers ESA astronaut Pref ace

I wrote this book because I wanted to read it. I am a reader and collector of the Outward Odyssey series of books published by the University of Nebraska Press and edited by Colin Burgess . In April 2012 Colin posted on the collectSPACE website that UNP had asked him to explore the possibility of going beyond the 12 books in the series. He was asking the readers for suggestions. My suggestions were a book on the Soyuz/Salyut/ missions and a book on the ESA missions to Mir, ISS and on Shuttles. Colin’s reply was that the UNP didn’t see a market for non-US stories. Demonstrating the depth of the forum users, David J. Shayler posted a reply mentioning Clive Horwood of Praxis. I contacted Clive proposing a book covering the European missions to the ISS… and the rest, as they say, is history. The history of European human spacefl ight is not as straightforward as its American or Russian counterparts. Europe wasn’t a competitor in the ‘’. As a collection of nations with different languages, cultures and goals, the vision for space has been com- plex. For the fi rst three decades of the space age, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain. Even today, the does not build or fl y a human-rated spacecraft. But despite all these factors there is a rich history of Europeans travelling to space on a variety of spacecraft and performing a variety of missions.1 As Europe isn’t a single country with a manned space programme, European citizens must ‘hitch a ride’ to get into space. This has resulted in many different routes to orbit. Before the period covered by this book, astronauts from communist countries and from had fl own on Soviet Soyuz spacecraft to the Salyut and Mir space stations. Later, astronauts from other Western European space agencies and ESA fl ew to Mir. Western Europeans represented their national space agencies and ESA by fl ying on NASA Space Shuttle missions. Naturalised US citizens from around the world, including quite a few Europeans, succeeded in joining NASA’s astronaut corps by applying to the Johnson

1 In December 2013, NASA and ESA agreed that the European (ESM), based on the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), would provide power and propulsion for the fi rst mission, Exploration Mission 1. EM-2 is planned to be a crewed mission.

xi xii Preface

Space Center in Houston, Texas . And fi nally, almost as a footnote, there have been several European-born American astronauts. Within the scope of this book are the European ESA astronauts who have fl own to the International Space Station (ISS). Even this story isn’t straight forward, because while most fl ew as members of the ESA astronaut corps, one fl ew as a French CNES astronaut prior to joining ESA, and others fl ew as representatives of their national space agencies and not as ESA astronauts. As a prelude to the 2001–2011 decade of European missions to the ISS, I have written a brief history of European human spacefl ight up to 2000. It is written in chronological order and contains fl ights of the following types: • Intercosmos missions: Eastern Europeans on Soviet missions to . For sim- plicity, including Bulgarian Alexandrov’s mission to Mir. • ESA Shuttle missions: ESA astronauts on Space Shuttle missions, including mis- sions that carried the module. • Non-ESA Shuttle missions: CNES /DLR/ASI astronauts on Space Shuttle missions. Some may or may not have fl own as ESA astronauts on other missions. They include Payload Specialists not assigned by a space agency; e.g. Dirk Frimout . • ESA Soyuz missions: ESA astronauts on Soyuz missions. • Non-ESA Soyuz missions: CNES/ ASA / DLR astronauts on Soyuz missions. • Miscellaneous: Helen Sharman was selected to fl y to Mir on a mission funded by private UK companies without the assistance of either the UK government or ESA. However, I have considered the following technically European human spacefl ights to lie outside the scope of this book: • Cosmonauts: For reasons of practicality, I have excluded all cosmonauts from European (west of the Urals), , Belorussia, and the Baltic countries. Even though these territories lie in Europe, this would only complicate matters. • Naturalised and dual citizens: Europeans who gained citizenship of USA / Canada and joined NASA/CSA, or who fl ew as Payload Specialists on the Shuttle. For example:

° Lodewijk van den Berg ( born, US citizen) who fl ew as on STS-51B . ° Michael Foale ( UK born, dual UK/US citizen) who has fl own to space six times on both Soyuz and Shuttle spacecraft and has lived on Mir and commanded the ISS. ° Michael Lopez- Alegria (Spanish born, US citizen) who has fl own in space four times on both Soyuz and Shuttle spacecraft and has commanded the ISS. ° Bjarni Trygvasson ( Iceland born, Canadian citizen) who fl ew as a Payload Specialist on STS-85 representing CSA. ° ( UK born, US citizen) who has fl own on three Shuttle missions as and visited the ISS. Preface xiii

° (UK born, US citizen) who has fl own on two Shuttle missions as Mission Specialist and visited the ISS. ° Charles Simonyi (Hungarian born, US citizen) who has fl own twice on Soyuz missions to the ISS as a ‘ space tourist ’. • US citizens born abroad: US citizens by birth, born abroad to US citizen parents:

° Michael Collins (born in ) who fl ew on Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 . He is undeniably the fi rst European born astronaut, but for consistency has to be excluded on the grounds of his American parentage and citizenship.2 ° Gregory Johnson (born in the UK ) who fl ew on two Shuttle missions as pilot and visited the ISS. ° Richard Garriott (born in the UK ) who fl ew on Soyuz TMA-31 to the ISS as a ‘space tourist’ and second generation spacefarer. I have used a variety of sources for the material in this book including NASA and ESA mission reports, astronaut biographies and blogs, contemporaneous magazines and refer- ence websites such as the encyclopaedic www.spacefacts.de. As a result, the content of each mission chapter may differ in tone or focus. I have endeavoured to keep a common ‘look and feel’ to each chapter but, for example, the DELTA mission chapter covers Soyuz training and preparation to good effect, while the Celsius mission chapter covers Shuttle training. Similarly the Cervantes mission chapter describes the very personal experience of , whereas other chapters may describe the crew space activities more clini- cally. I hope this variety adds to the enjoyment of the book. There is a rich story of human spacefl ight happening between and around the European missions detailed in this book. Although I have endeavoured to inform the reader of key missions and events in American and Soviet/Russian spacefl ight during this time period, these missions lie outside the scope of this book; they are, however, well covered in other Springer-Praxis publications. When selecting terminology, I’ve used the term astronaut when describing fl ights on American spacecraft and cosmonaut for fl ights on Soviet or Russian spacecraft. The same spacefarer could be described as both over the course of the book, as many Europeans have fl own on both American and Russian craft. As yet there have been no European Taikonauts … There are several reasons why I chose to conclude the coverage of this book with the Promisse mission of André Kuipers : • A round 10 years elapsed between STS-100 in 2001 and the launch of the Promisse mission on Soyuz TMA-03M in 2011, and a decade is a good period to cover. • There were ESA launches every year from 2001 to 2011 but none in 2012, making that the fi rst break in 10 years.

2 A good tip when setting quiz questions! xiv Preface

• The next mission after Promisse by André Kuipers was the Volare mission of of the ESA astronaut class of 2009. Thus began a series of missions with the new astronaut school. The last mission for the earlier class was therefore a natu- ral cut off point for this account. • While I was writing, ESA were launching astronauts to the ISS at such a rate that I had to draw the line somewhere , as otherwise I’d never have been able to fi nish the book! For mission names, I decided not to use the upper case ‘ISS’ which ESA insisted on shoehorning into their titles. So, for example, I refer to Odissea rather than OdISSea, because I fi nd the latter to be distracting to the reader.

John O’Sullivan December 2015 Acknowledgements

I must thank Clive Horwood of Praxis in England and Maury Solomon of Springer in New York for giving me the chance to write this book and for having the patience to wait while I got down to it. I would like to thank David M. Harland in Scotland for his advice to a neophyte author and for editing the manuscript. And I would like to thank Jim Wilkie for understanding my vision and creating the cover. I have endeavoured to provide credits for the images but in some cases the owner couldn’t be identifi ed; if anyone with such information contacts the publisher, I shall happily correct a credit in a future edition. And fi nally, I would like to thank André Kuipers for contributing the Foreword to the book and Michel van Pelt for all his help in arranging this.

xv About th e author

John O’Sullivan BE, Dip Phys Sci, Dip PM, CEng MIEI, PMP, FSP, CMSE ® studied Electrical Engineering at University College Cork. He has over 20 years’ experience in the automation and control sector delivering to the life-science industry in Ireland. He is a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland and a Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute. He has always had a fascination with aviation and space, leading him to gain his Private Pilot Licence in 2003 and to study Astronomy and Planetary Science with the Open University. Since 2010 he has been awarded a Certifi cate in Astronomy and Planetary Science and a Diploma in Physical Science by the OU, as well as a Diploma in Project Management from the Cork Institute of Technology. He was an unsuccessful applicant for the ESA Astronaut Corps in 2008, and lives in East Cork with his wife and daughter.

xvi Acronyms

AAAF Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France ABC American Broadcasting Company AF Assembly Flight AFB Air Base AFM Association Française contre les Myopathies ANAE Académie de l’Air et de l’Espace APU Auxiliary Power Unit ARED Advanced Resistive Exercise Device ARISS Amateur Radio on the ISS ASA Austrian Space Agency ASI Agenzia Spaziale Italiana () ASTP Apollo Soyuz Test Programme ATLAS Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle BDC Basic Data Collection BE Bachelor of Engineering Degree BS Bachelor of Science Degree B.USOC Belgian User Support and Operation Centre CBM Common Berthing Mechanism CBS Columbia Broadcasting System CD Compact Disc CDR Commander CDRA Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly CDT Central Daylight Time CDTI Centre for Development of Industrial Technology CEng Chartered Engineer CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) CET Central European Time

xvii xviii Acronyms

CETA Crew and Equipment Translation Aid CIR Combustion Integrated Rack CMG Control Moment CNEN Comitato Nazionale per l’Energia Nucleare CNES Centre National d’Etudes Spatiale (Centre for Space Studies) CNN Cable News Network CNR Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que COGNI Cognitive Process for 3-D Orientation Perception and Navigation in Weightlessness COLBERT Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill COL-CC CONT Commission for the Control of Financial Reporting COSTAR Corrective Optics for Space Telescope Axial Replacement COTS Commercial Orbital Transportation Services CRISTA-SPAS Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere - Shuttle Pallet Satellite CRS Commercial Resupply Services CSA CST Central Standard Time DARA Deutsche Agentur für Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (German Agency for Space Flight Affairs, now part of DLR) DCORE/SCORE Deployer Core Equipment and Satellite Core Equipment DELTA Dutch Expedition for Life Science, Technology and Atmospheric Research D/HSO Directorate of Human Spacefl ight and Operations DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Centre for Flight and Space Flight) previously DVLR DM Descent Module DSM Docking and Storage Module EAC European Astronaut Centre EEG Electroencephalogram EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service ELC Express Logistics Carrier EMCS European Modular Cultivation System EMET Investigation of Electromagnetic Emissions by the Electrodynamic Tether ENEA Nazionale Energie Alternative EO Main Expedition ESA European Space Agency ESEF European Science Exposure Facility ESOC ESA Space Operations Centre ESTEC European Space Research and Technology Centre EPNER École du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Réception ESRIN European Space Research Institute Acronyms xix

ET External Tank ETPS Empire School EuTEF European Technology Exposure Facility EVA Extravehicular Activity FCF Fluids & Combustion Facility FGB Functional Cargo Block GCTC Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre GMT Greenwich Mean Time GPC General Purpose Computer GPS Global Positioning System GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center HTV H-II Transfer Vehicle IAA International Academy of Astronautics IAC International Astronautical Congress ICV Integrated Cardiovascular Experiment IFSI l’Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario IMAX Image MAXimum IMDN Investigation and Measurement of Dynamic Noise in the TSS ISLE In-Suit Light Exercise ISS International Space Station ITCS Internal Thermal Control System ITRE Committee for Industry, Research and Energy IUS Inertial Upper Stage booster JAXA Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JEMRMS Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System JSC KhSC Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre KSC KTH Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology LEO Low Earth Orbit LF Logistics fl ight MBS Mobile Remote Servicer Base System MELFI Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS MIEI Member of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland MISSE Materials on International Space Station Experiment MPLM Multi-Purpose Logistics Module MS Master of Science Degree MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center MSG Microgravity Science Glovebox MSP Mission Specialist NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASDA National Space Development Agency (now part of JAXA) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Alliance NBC National Broadcasting Company NBL Neutral Laboratory xx Acronyms

NEEMO NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations NPR National Public Radio OBSS Orbiter Boom Sensor System ODS Orbiter Docking System OESSE Observations at the Earth‘s Surface of Electromagnetic Emissions by TSS OMS Orbital Manoeuvring System ORU Orbital Replacement Unit OSTEC Belgian Federal Offi ce for Scientifi c, Technical and Cultural Affairs OU Open University OV Orbiter Vehicle PKE Plasma Kristall Experiment PMA Pressurised Mating Adaptor PMM Permanent Multi-purpose Module PMP Project Management Professional PLT Pilot POA Payload Orbital Replacement Unit Accommodation PPL Private Pilot Licence PS Payload Specialist PVAA Photovoltaic Array Assemblies RCS Reaction Control System RETE Research on Electrodynamic Tether Effects RKA Russian Federal Space Agency ROPE Research on Orbital Plasma Electrodynamics RS Russian Segment SARJ Solar Array Rotary Joint SAW Solar Array Wing SCA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SETS Shuttle Electrodynamic Tether System SOLO SOdium LOad in microgravity SPREE Shuttle Potential and Return Electron Experiment SRB Solid Rocket Booster SRON Space Research Organisation Netherlands SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SSME Space Shuttle Main Engine SSRM Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator STS Space Transportation System TEID Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of TSS Dynamics TEMAG Magnetic Field Experiment for TSS Missions TMA Transport Modifi ed Anthropometric TMST Theory and Modelling in Support of Tethered Satellite Applications TNO Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientifi c Research TOP Tether Optical Phenomena Experiment TRRJ Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint TSS Tethered Satellite System Acronyms xxi

TsUP RKA Mission Control Centre TUS Trailing Umbilical System ULF Utilisation and Logistics Flight UF Utilisation Flight UNICEF Children’s Fund UNP University of Nebraska Press UTC Universal Time Coordinate VC Visiting Crew VII-FP Seventh Framework Programme for European Research WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WRS Water Recovery System WHC Waste and Hygiene Compartment