German astronaut chosen for next ISS mission

German astronaut chosen for next ISS mission
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Posted: 4:05 PM EDT (2005 GMT)


MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- A German will become the first European Space Agency
astronaut to spend a full six-month stint on the international space
station, the Russian Space Agency said Wednesday.
Thomas Reiter, 46, will participate in Expedition 11 in July and complete
his mission to the orbiting space station when Expedition 12 is on board,
the agency said in statement.

Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Russian Space Agency, signed a contract
with ESA making Reiter part of the main crew. He will work both on research
programs and maintain the station with other crew members.
The station had been limited to two full-time residents since the space
shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on February 1, 2003, killing all
seven astronauts on board. The disaster prompted NASA to immediately suspend
shuttle flights, but the agency hopes to resume them next month.

Russia's cash-strapped space program has worked closely with the ESA,
carrying ESA astronauts on research missions to the orbiting station.

Earlier this month, ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori, an Italian, spent eight
days on the orbiting lab. He returned to Earth with American Leroy Chiao and
Russian Salizhan Sharipov, who were on the space station since October.

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info