It will be up to Samantha Cristoforetti to take command of the International Space Station, replacing the Russian Oleg Artemyev. The Italian astronaut will be the first European woman to assume this role, as prestigious as it is important for the smooth running of the International Space Station’s activities. The appointment will be effective shortly. Here are all the details on the appointment:
It will be up to Samantha Cristoforetti to take command of the International Space Station
Starting with the next one September 28th, Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will take command of the International Space Station. The handover will be rapid and will bring the Italian astronaut in command of the project with the responsibility of managing the performance and well-being of the crew in orbit, while maintaining contact with the control center on earth.
Cristoforetti will be in command of the International Space Station for a relatively short period of time and will have to also organize the handover with the next crew. At the moment, however, the exact timing is not yet known. Before Cristoforetti, among the Italian astronauts, only Luca Parmitano was in command of the Space Station.
The appointment was established by the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (Roscosmos), Europe (ESA), Japan (Jaxa) and Canada (CSA).
The astronaut’s comment after the important appointment
Here are the words of Cristoforetti: “I am honored by my appointment. I am looking forward to drawing on the experience I have gained in space and on Earth to lead a very capable team into orbit ”. Further details regarding operations on the International Space Station will arrive over the next few days. For the Italian astronaut, the new appointment represents another great milestone in her extraordinary career.