Three Belgian journalists, Herman Henderickx (VRT Radio), Tijs Mauroo (VRT TV) and Boudewijn Van Spilbeeck (VTM) have closely followed Frank De Winne from the start of his eighteen-moth training and his 6 moths stay in the International Space Station (ISS) until the successful landing in Kazakhstan and have published their findings in a new book titled "Het Ruimtedagboek van Frank De Winne -Dagelijks leven in het ISS" (The Space diary of Frank De Winne - day to day life at the ISS).  The authors describe the life of the Belgian astronaut during his extended journey in space, including the daily work, food, condition training, living in confined surroundings with 5 other astronauts and Frank's experience as an ISS commander. They also present a look into the future of manned space travel. More information here.

The Soyuz TMA-15 reentry module landed safely in Kazakhstan at 13.15 local time (08.15 CET), bringing ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk back to Earth.  The landing concluded the six-month OasISS mission, ESA’s second long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This flight saw Frank De Winne, from Belgium, become the first European to take command of the largest human outpost ever assembled in space. When De Winne, Romanenko and Thirsk arrived on the ISS in May 2009, they joined the three resident astronauts to form the first permanent crew of six, allowing more scientific experiments to be conducted onboard. Source: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/OasISS_Mission/SEMNIY49J2G_0.html . Click here and here for some Youtube movies of the landing.

24/11 - Frank De Winne hands over command of the International Space Station to American Jeff Williams

The STS-129 crew joined Expedition 21 commander Frank De Winne and his crewmates as he handed over command of Expedition 21 to NASA astronaut Jeff Williams. Williams will lead Expedition 22 after De Winne, Roman Romanenko and Bob Thirsk depart the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-15 on Nov. 30. During the change-of-ceremony, Williams presented out-going station flight engineer Nicole Stott with her NASA gold astronaut pin and "100 Days in Space" patch (though if Atlantis lands on Friday as planned, she will have logged just shy of that, 91 days). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a22mUS_chtI&feature=player_embedded   Source : CollectSpace

For the second night in a row the crew of the Atlantis-ISS was awakened by a false alarm. During the night, after all of the crewmembers of both coupled space vessels went to sleep an alarm indicating a loss of pressure went of in the newly added Russian module Pojsk followed sometimes later by similar alarms in the European Columbus lab and the American module Quest. It is yet unknown why this alarm went off.

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne's OasISS Mission has been extended by one week. The Russian Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft that he will return to Earth with together with Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk is now set to land on 1 December 2009. De Winne has been living and working on the International Space Station (ISS) since his arrival with the Soyuz TMA-15 together with Romanenko and Thirsk on 29 May, two days after launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Source: ESA

Today, Frank De Winne will have contact with the students of the VTI St Lucas at Oudenaarde via amateur radio. The contact is foreseen at 15h47 and the students have prepared some twenty questions for Frank. Driving force behind the contact is teacher/radio amateur Patriek De Temmerman who prepared this contact since one year. Source: Het Laatste Nieuws

Kids at 4 locations in Europe will take classroom into space with Frank De Winne on Monday21 September 2009.  http://bit.ly/2RETIG - airs live on NASA TV! More information at ESA.

Frank De Winne has opened the Space Week 2009 organised by the Euro Space Society on an initiative of the first Belgian in Space Dirk Frimout. More on space week here.

The Japanese space agency's first HII-Transfer Vehicle (HTV-1) was launched today 10/09 at 19:01 CEST (17:01 UT). Developed and built in Japan, the HTV is an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft that will deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

Canadian astronaut-tourist Guy Laliberté, founder of the “Circus Du Soleil" will soon be presenting a poem to humanity from space. This was.  Laliberté announced this planetary artistic event in Starcity near Moscow where he trains for his space travel. The event will take place over 5 continents and 14 cities. Date will be Oct 9th starting at 2pm Belgian time in Montreal and ends two hours later in Moscow. Some of the people who sponsor this artistic-spatial occasion are American ex-vice-president Al Gore, singers Peter Gabriel and Shakira and of course Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne. Source: HLN

31/08 - Frank De Winne meets ESA colleague Christer Fuglesang on the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station earlier today. Shortly afterwards, Shuttle crewmember Christer Fuglesang was welcomed on board the Station by his fellow ESA astronaut and member of the Expedition 20 crew, Frank De Winne. Source: ESA

To mark ESA astronaut Frank De Winne's six-month OasISS mission to the International Space Station, and triggered by his role as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF Belgium, ESA's Human Spaceflight Education Team has teamed up with UNICEF to launch an online quiz for 12-14 year old European children. Source: ESA

Follow the launch of the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station with Space Shuttle Discovery. The crew of seven includes ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang of Sweden, on his second spaceflight, a mission dubbed ‘Alissé’. After two launch scrubs on 25 and 26 August, launch is now targeted for 28 August at 06:22 CEST. Source: ESA

Soon Frank is to receive more visitors. The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery to the ISS with a crew of seven is scheduled for 25 August. Later on 10 September, Japan will send its first unmanned cargo spacecraft to the Station - the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV).Discovery will transport the European-built Leonardo cargo module to the ISS, returning it to Earth on 7 September. Inside Leonardo will be racks with life support systems and scientific experiments. Built in Italy, there are three of these cargo carriers; they have been given the entertaining names Leonardo, Donatello and Raffaello. Source: ESA

  ESA astronaut Frank De Winne operated the International Space Station's robotic arm last Friday to relocated a docking adapter on the outside of the Station's Unity module. The Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 was moved in preparation for the arrival of Node 3 and Cupola early next year. Source: ESA

De Winne and Barratt have been practising for rendez-vous & docking of Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle. HTV due for launch 10 September. Source: ESA

During the Pressurised Mating Adapter -3 (PMA-3) relocation De Winne and Thirsk are performed robotics operations in close coordination with flight controllers on the ground. Source: ESA

Frank has been practising robotics skills. On Friday he and Barratt will help relocate PMA-3 ready for Node 3 & Cupola arrival next year.

Frank De Winne is now on his 70th day in space during the OasISS mission. That's his 81st in total adding his 2002 Odissea mission.

The toilet of the International Space Station (ISS) became blocked, but luckily the astronauts have tools and spare parts on board to repair the installation. The blocked toilet could be a problem because it is linked to the station's water purification system. If the repairs were not successful, drinking water supplies could be in jeopardy. On Tuesday came the liberating news that the blocked toilet on the ISS had been repaired. Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne and the ISS commander replaced a number of parts into which a chemical liquid had seeped. All on board the space station now once again have permission to use the installation. Source: FlandersNews.be

In this short video clip recorded on the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne reflects on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. See the video at the ESA site here.

Frank De Winne passed the 50 days in space milestone earlier today! Added to his previous mission, to date his total is 61 days.   * Science and physical exercise for Frank in space today - Including working in Columbus using the MSG glovebox for the inSPACE-2 experiment.. *  Frank's activities in space today include the inspection and cleaning of smoke detectors in the Columbus .

Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Michael Barratt, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency, are packing and preparing for the arrival of space shuttle Endeavour. They also are reviewing photography procedures for documenting the condition of the shuttle’s heat protection tiles as it completes a rendezvous pitch manoeuvre during its approach to the station. The STS-127 crew began its journey to the International Space Station at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday when space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Centre; Fla. Endeavour is scheduled to arrive at the station on Friday. The shuttle crew will complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and deliver a new crew member, astronaut Tim Kopra, to the orbital outpost... Source: NASA

A Europe-wide education event will link the International Space Station with hundreds of schoolchildren in several European cities. In a live link-up with the ISS, scheduled for 21 September, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will perform a simple experiment in space to demonstrate the effects of freefall. Source : ESA

The location database includes most towns and villages in the entire world (over 2 million places!). To get to your town, first select your country by clicking on a letter from the following navigation bar:   -  Jump to the ESA webpage

On Friday 12 June, as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programme, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will contact two European schools for a question and answer session with students. Radio amateur societies from the International Space Station (ISS) partner countries have set up ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS), a volunteering working group devoted to develop and put into operation the Station's onboard amateur radio station. Thanks to the work of ARISS, astronauts on the ISS can communicate with the ground not only with dedicated networks run by space agencies, but also with amateur radio.  Source: ESA

The crew of the International Space Station has increased to six for the first time today with the arrival of three new residents including ESA astronaut Frank De Winne with the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft. The new crewmembers, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, were welcomed on the ISS by the three Expedition crewmembers already in residence: Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Together they will form the first ever. More at ESA.  Watch the opening of the hatch on YouTube

The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 14:34 CEST (12:34 CEST) today. The Soyuz crew, including ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, is scheduled to enter the ISS after hatch opening at 15:45 CEST (13:45 UT). Watch the replay of the docking at the ESA site.

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne is heading to the International Space Station at the start of his six-month OasISS mission. Together with Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, De Winne launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 12:34 CEST (10:34 UT) today. Their Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at 14:36 CEST (12:36 UT) on Friday 29 May. The arrival of De Winne, Romanenko and Thirsk at the ISS will mark the first ever six-member ISS crew, as they join the three Expedition crewmembers already in residence on the Station: Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Source and more information: ESA .

Early this morning, the Soyuz launcher that will bring ESA astronaut Frank De Winne to the International Space Station for his six-month OasISS mission was transferred to the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazahkstan. The launch is scheduled for 12:34 CEST on 27 May. The Soyuz launcher arrived at launch pad 1 following a two-hour journey from the integration building. The launcher was erected on the launch pad later in the day after a delay caused by high winds at the launch site. More at ESA

19/05 - Follow the launch of the next ISS commander ESA astronaut Frank De Winne live at ESA establishments

 The Soyuz rocket that will bring ESA astronaut Frank De Winne to the International Space Station for the OasISS mission is set to launch from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on 27 May at 12:34 CEST. Frank De Winne's OasISS mission onboard the ISS will last six months during which he will conduct a European science programme and operate robotic arms to dock the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle to the ISS and to install scientific experiments outside the Japanese Kibo module. In October he will become the first European to command the permanently manned human outpost in space. The mission also marks an important milestone in the ISS programme. For the first time in the history of the ISS, the permanent crew will be expanded to six people in order to make full use of the Space Station's technological and scientific capabilities. Also for the first time in its history, all participating partners will be represented at the same time by an astronaut onboard – the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. For the launch of the OasISS mission, ESA is organising coverage of the launch at various centres. ESA experts will be on hand for interviews.  Source:  ESA PR 11-2009.

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will be the first ever European commander of the International Space Station. He will command the ISS during the second half of his six-month mission, named OasISS. After a successful career as a senior pilot in the Belgian Air Force, De Winne was recruited to the European Astronaut Corps in 2000 and has already worked on the ISS for 9 days during his Odissea mission in 2002. During OasISS, De Winne will also be instrumental in operating the robotic arms with which the Japanese HTV spacecraft will be attached to the ISS in September and its external payloads will be installed. He has trained extensively for his tasks at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, at the Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba, Japan, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, US, and at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia. Source: ESA TV 2009.