Dutch astronaut blasts off on 11-day space mission :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Dutch astronaut blasts off on 11-day space mission

Posted by admin on Monday, April 19, 2004 - 02:51 AM

AMSTERDAM — Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers blasted off into space at 5.19am Dutch time on Monday from the Russian launch site Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
Kuipers — the second Dutch astronaut ever and conducting his first mission in space — started his first orbit of the earth in the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft about eight minutes after launch. He was accompanying Russian and spacecraft commander Gennadi Padalka and US astronaut Michael Fincke. The crew encountered no problems during the launch and the Soyuz capsule will now dock with the International Space Station (ISS) in two days time. The 45-year-old Kuipers, a physician, will spend nine days at the space station conducting a range of experiments. His wife, two daughters and parents all travelled to Baikonur to watch the launch. The Dutchman will return to the earth on 30 April with the present crew of the ISS, Russian Alexander Kaleri and American Michael Foale, both of whom have been in space since October 2003. Kuipers is the flight engineer of the Soyuz capsule, meaning that he assists the spacecraft's commander, Padalka, during crucial moments such as the launch and docking with the ISS. He will also assist in its landing on earth. In the unlikely scenario that something should occur to the commander during the flight, Kuipers will be forced to take over command of the capsule, news agency ANP reported. During his stay on the ISS, Kuipers will be in contact with two Delft University students as he carries out their self-designed experiment, which investigates the effects of weightlessness on batteries powered by sugar-fed bacteria. Kuipers — who is participating in the DELTA mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) — will also talk with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on Wednesday, plus Education Minister Maria van der Hoeven — who witnessed the launch in Baikonur — and Economic Affairs Minister Laurens Jan Brinkhorst. Both the Education and Economic Affairs ministries financially backed Kuipers' space mission by buying a seat in the Soyuz capsule for EUR 12.5 million. An ESA spokesman estimated the total cost of the mission at EUR 15 million. Meanwhile, the almost 50m long Soyuz rocket was taken by locomotive on Saturday morning from the assembly area to the launch pad, where it would be prepared for launch. The DELTA crew: Fincke, Padalka and Kuipers. © ESA - S. Corvaja 2004 And in his last press conference before Monday's launch, Kuipers said on Sunday morning in Baikonur that he had "no trace of nerves". "But undoubtedly my heart will soon beat quicker in the rocket," he said from behind a glass screen designed to protect him and his fellow crewmen from illness. "I am completely ready." He urged his daughters to enjoy the launch and the fun things that would follow and said the atmosphere among crew was "very good", public news service NOS reported. Kuipers — who said he will miss hot showers while in space — took 1.5kg of personal luggage with him such as photos, sentimental items from loved ones and his first science fiction book. He also took some matured cheese with him. Once his first mission and boyhood dream is completed, Kuipers said there will still be much to dream about, including a second mission, staying in space for a longer period of time and conducting a space walk. Shortly before giving his press conference, Kuipers had appeared in the cosmonaut hotel before the Russian space travel State committee, where he was symbolically and formally given definite approval to accompany the Soyuz rocket into space. The first Dutchman in space was former ESA astronaut Wubbo Ockels, who conducted a mission in 1985.

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