ISS - International Space Station logo.
April 21, 2021
International Space Station: 20 years in 60 seconds
On 23 April 2001, ESA astronaut Umberto Guidoni first set foot, or hand, on the International Space Station, making him the first European to visit and work the orbiting outpost. Since then, the Space Station has grown immensely, as have the number of Europeans to have worked in it, together with the science experiments performed in orbit.
Launch STS-100
When Umberto arrived, he flew on the Space Shuttle and docked with a Space Station that consisted of just three modules: Unity, Zarya and Zvezda. Since then, 19 European astronauts of nine different nationalities have followed in his foot or hand steps.
20 years of ESA on the ISS
The next ESA astronaut to fly to the International Space Station, Thomas Pesquet will catch a ride on the SpaceX Dragon and return to this place in space that has grown by three laboratory modules, an airlock, two connecting nodes and an observatory and is now the size of a football field.
International Space Station in 2001
Europe contributes around 8% of the running costs of the International Space Station, but has built a large part of the structure, including ESA’s Columbus laboratory, the Cupola observatory, the Tranquillity and Harmony modules, as well as the computers that collect data and provide navigation, communications and operations for the Russian segment.
ESA astronaut Umberto Guidoni
ESA also provided the Space Station with supplies and boosted its orbit through five Automated Transfer Vehicles, the heaviest and most versatile Space Station supply ferry. This programme evolved into the European Service Modules that ESA is supplying for NASA’s Artemis programme, taking humans forward to the Moon and thus continuing the exemplary international collaboration beyond Earth’s orbit.
ATV-5 approaching Station
Developing a Low Earth Orbit economy
The Space Station’s success has seen it evolve over time and the future will see humankind’s orbital laboratory continuing to change. “We are seeing space agencies including ESA shift towards acquiring services from industrial providers. People and companies will pay for these services such as transportation, crew time and access to science facilities” says ESA’s first commander of the International Space Station and now head of the European Astronaut Centre as well as ESA’s International Space Station programme manager, Frank de Winne.
ICE Cubes facility
Three European commercial services are already open for business, offering quick and easy access to run experiments and even artwork in or outside the Space Station.
Image above: A view of the European Columbus laboratory installed in its new home on the International Space Station
“We have seen this shift, starting with the cargo vehicles and now the commercial crew vehicles that will fly the next three ESA astronauts to the Space Station,” continues Frank, “and we can expect more with individuals booking seats and coming to us for spaceflight training, for example. ESA will direct them to our service training providers, establishing a Low-Earth Orbit economy.”
Full house on the Space Station
ESA is celebrating two decades of European presence on the International Space in the run-up to 21 April, with Tweets every day on @esaspaceflight. We will be sharing highlights of European science and a reissue of the Columbus cartoon featuring the European space laboratory. New episodes of podcasts will highlight the work done for space on Earth and videos will showcase Europe’s involvement in the largest international collaboration ever to have taken place off the Earth.
International Space Station (ISS)
Related links:
Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV): https://www.esa.int/atv
European Service Modules (ESM): https://www.esa.int/orion
Columbus cartoon: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Sets/Columbus_cartoons/(result_type)/images
Astronauts: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts
Human and Robotic Exploration: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/International_Space_Station
Images, Animation, Videos, Text, Credits: ESA/NASA.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
