Once in orbit it will take Duque and the two other crew members on board, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri and NASA astronaut Michael Foale, about two days to reach the International Space Station (ISS). Docking is due at 09:11 CEST on 20 October, with the hatch opening at 10:45.
Duque will be Flight Engineer on the Soyuz TMA-3, taking an active role alongside Kaleri, the Commander, in piloting and docking the spacecraft. This is the third Soyuz TMA flight, the first having been in October 2002 with ESA astronaut Frank De Winne from Belgium on board. Soyuz TMA-3 will replace Soyuz TMA-2, currently docked with the ISS, and remain there with the Expedition 8 crew, Kaleri and Foale, for approximately six months as an emergency lifeboat.
Duque becomes the sixth European astronaut to visit the ISS, and the first from Spain. During his eight-day stay, he will carry out an extensive experiment programme in the fields of life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology. This will include use of the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.
"A trip into space is not something you can do every day", said Duque, "so I am determined to use every moment to the fullest and perform the various experiments as proficiently as possible. I am proud to be representing almost 40 million Spanish citizens".
The Cervantes mission was originally planned for April this year, but in the aftermath of the Columbia accident ESA gave up that flight opportunity to make a crew exchange flight possible. This mission is Duque's second spaceflight. He flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle
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Contact: Brigitte Kolmsee
33-153-697-155
European Space Agency
18-Oct-2003