The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest technology project of all time: an outpost of humanity in space. At the same time, it is a flying laboratory with outstanding possibilities for scientific and industrial research. The ISS proves that peaceful international use of space is to the advantage of all its partners.
A special website presenting all the German astronauts that have flown in space, and the latest German astronaut candidate – Alexander Gerst. In 1978, Sigmund Jähn, a citizen of the German Democratic Republic, became the first German to travel to space. In addition to Jähn, this astronaut special contains brief biographies of Ulf Merbold, Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid, Ulrich Walter, Klaus-Dietrich Flade, Reinhold Ewald, Gerhard Thiele and Thomas Reiter. And finally, Hans Schlegel, the German astronaut to fly most recently; he flew on STS-122, the mission during which Columbus was attached to the International Space Station, in 2008.
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest technology project of all time. The European Columbus module is the newest section of the Space Station. Even with Columbus attached, the ISS is still not finished. Follow its development and see our interactive animation of the construction of the ISS.
In February 2008, the astronauts of the STS-122 mission installed the Columbus space laboratory in its final position on the International Space Station ISS. This image gallery shows the Columbus Laboratory from transportation in the Beluga Airbus to assembly in space.
This blog was operated by ESA in cooperation with DLR. It was updated by the media team of ESA and direct input was received from the Columbus lab ground controllers, ESA astronauts and Web editors at the Columbus Control Centre, Germany, and the Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers, USA.
Rendezvousing at 28,000 kilometres per hour at an altitude of about 380 kilometres is hardly routine – even for experienced spaceflight engineers and astronauts, which is why applause broke out in the European Space Agency (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Control Centre in Toulouse when the third European space transporter, 'Edoardo Amaldi', docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 00:31 CEST (22:31 UTC) on 29 March 2012.
It is a freighter, storage facility and propulsion system all in one - and an important link between the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) and their base on Earth. The third European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space transporter was launched on 23 March 2012 at 05:34 CET (01:34 local time) on board an Ariane 5ES rocket, from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
The ROKVISS (Robotic Components Verification on the ISS) technology experiment developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has returned to Earth after six years in space.