Paolo Nespoli
Italian - (ESA)
Retired
Date of Birth: April 6, 1957
Age: 69
Paolo Angelo Nespoli (Milan, 6 April 1957) is an Italian astronaut and engineer of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist of STS-120. In December 2010 he again traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as an Expedition 26/27 flight engineer. Nespoli's third spaceflight was onboard Soyuz MS-05 which launched in July 2017 for Expedition 52/53. He is also the European Space Agency's oldest active astronaut.
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-120
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-120 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched on 23 October 2007 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission is also referred to as ISS-10A by the ISS program. STS-120 delivered the Harmony module and reconfigured a portion of the station in preparation for future assembly missions. STS-120 was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, and was the twenty-third space shuttle mission to the ISS.
Low Earth Orbit
Soyuz FG | Soyuz TMA-20
Progress Rocket Space Center | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Status: Success
Mission:
Soyuz TMA-20 begins Expedition 26 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev alongside Flight Engineers, Catherine Coleman (NASA) & Paolo Nespoli (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on May 24, 2011, 02:27 UTC
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz-FG | Soyuz MS-05
Progress Rocket Space Center | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Status: Success
Mission:
Soyuz MS-05 begins expedition 52 by carrying NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky to the International Space Station. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.
Low Earth OrbitThe European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 15-27
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Long March 2D
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.
Electron
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandSynthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationNote: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…
Kuaizhou 11
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.
