Paolo Angelo Nespoli (Milan, 6 April 1957) is an Italian astronaut and engineer of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist of STS-120. In December 2010 he again traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as an Expedition 26/27 flight engineer. Nespoli's third spaceflight was onboard Soyuz MS-05 which launched in July 2017 for Expedition 52/53. He is also the European Space Agency's oldest active astronaut.
STS-120 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched on 23 October 2007 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission is also referred to as ISS-10A by the ISS program. STS-120 delivered the Harmony module and reconfigured a portion of the station in preparation for future assembly missions. STS-120 was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, and was the twenty-third space shuttle mission to the ISS.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz TMA-20 begins Expedition 26 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev alongside Flight Engineers, Catherine Coleman (NASA) & Paolo Nespoli (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on May 24, 2011, 02:27 UTC
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz MS-05 begins expedition 52 by carrying NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky to the International Space Station. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.
Low Earth OrbitThe European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.