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ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli Assigned to STS-120

19 June 2006

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, of Italian nationality, was today assigned to the crew of the Space Shuttle flight which in summer 2007 will launch Node 2, an Italian-built U.S. connecting module, to the International Space Station.

For his first space flight, Nespoli will serve as mission specialist, joining five NASA astronauts: Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy, who will command the STS-120 Shuttle mission (a veteran Shuttle pilot and the second woman to be named commander); Marine Corps Col. George D. Zamka, on his first space flight, who will serve as pilot; and mission specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Army Col. Douglas H. Wheelock and Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman, also on his first space flight.

Nespoli’s mission will be carried out in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Italian space agency (ASI) and NASA for the supply to NASA of three pressurised Multi-Purpose Logistic Modules (MPLM) and the assignment to Italy of flight opportunities and ISS utilisation.

Node 2 for the Space Station is a pressurised module which, along with Nodes 1 and 3, interconnects the research, habitation, control and docking modules of the Station itself.

The Nodes are used to control and distribute resources between the connected elements. This Node 2 flight precedes the launch of ESA’s Columbus laboratory to the ISS.