The Challenges and Opportunities of a Commercial Astronaut Mission to the ISS

Details The Challenges and Opportunities of a Commercial Astronaut Mission to the ISS The Challenges and Opportunities of a Commercial Astronaut Mission to the ISS

Jan 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002iaf..confe.857m&link_type=abstract

IAF abstracts, 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, The Second World Space Congress, held 10-19 October, 2002 in Houston, TX, USA.,

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

ISS flight opportunities for ESA astronauts are considered as a vital source to meet the objectives (utilisation, operation and political), which Europe has established in participating to the International Space Station programme. Recent internal ESA assessments have demonstrated that, in order to satisfy the objectives drawn in the ESA ISS Exploitation programme, a rate of three flights per year for European Astronauts should be maintained as minimum objective. Since the establishment of a single European Astronaut Corps and having regard of the ISS flight opportunities provided through national space agencies, the current European astronauts flight rate is rather lower than the above three flights per year. In order to improve this situation, in the context of the activation of the ESA ISS Commercialisation programme, the Agency contracted Intospace to develop the conditions for the establishment of ESA astronaut missions with the financial support of both ESA and the private sector or, in future, the latter only. The study led to the definition of a "commercial astronaut", as a member of the European Astronaut Corp that will be assigned the responsibility to perform research and commercial space projects in a given ISS mission scenario. This paper will present the recent outcomes of a detailed study phase, including highlights on possible implementation of a private sector-supported astronaut mission to the ISS.

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