• 11/24/2014

Monday, Nov 24, 2014: ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS)

TUM alumna on board of the ISS

Nearly six hours after launch and following four orbits of the earth, ESA astronaut and TUM alumna Samantha Cristoforetti has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). The hatch of the soyuz spacecraft opened on Monday, Nov 24, at 6 am (CET), so that Cristoforetti could enter the space station together with Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts. They will be staying on board for five months as part of the Futura 42 mission.

First picture of Samantha Cristoforetti (middle of front row) and the crew of the Future 42 mission on board ISS (Image: NASA)
First picture of Samantha Cristoforetti (middle of front row) and the crew of the Future 42 mission on board ISS (Image: NASA)

The International Space Station orbits the earth at a height of ca. 400 km. Cristoforetti is a flight engineer for Expedition 42 (Futura) – the 42nd long-term stay on the space station. She replaces German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst who had returned to earth only a few weeks ago. The rocket that took Cristoforetti, Shkaplerov and Virts up to space launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Nov 23, at 10:01 pm (CET).

Video: Launch, docking and ingress

  • Samantha Cristoforetti's journey to the ISS

NASA video live streams from the ISS

  • incl. HD ISS views

"I was always interested in space travel"

Further information about Samantha Cristoforetti

Technical University of Munich

Corporate Communications Center

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