Cristoforetti becomes first European woman to command ISS

Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti on Wednesday grew to become the primary European lady to take over command of the Worldwide Area Station throughout a ceremony broadcast reside from space.

The outgoing commander, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, used the event to seemingly make a uncommon space-bound reference to the conflict in Ukraine, saying that “regardless of the storms on Earth, our worldwide cooperation continues”.

Throughout a relaxed ceremony, Artemyev handed Cristoforetti a golden key, symbolising that she is the brand new commander of the space station till she returns to Earth on October 10.

Cristoforetti, a 45-year-old European Area Company astronaut and former Italian air pressure pilot, arrived for her second tour on the ISS in April.

She holds the report for the longest keep in space by a lady after spending 199 days in orbit in 2014 and 2015.

She is fifth lady—and the primary non-US lady—to turn into commander for the reason that position was created in 2000.

The space station, lengthy an emblem of nearer post-Chilly Warfare ties between Russia and the USA, has been in a troublesome place since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February.

Moscow responded with outrage at unprecedented sanctions over the conflict and the ISS has been one of many final remaining areas of cooperation between Russia and the West.

Warfare’s echoes in space

Artemyev praised the work of all 10 individuals onboard the space station—4 Individuals, 5 Russians and Cristoforetti.

He mentioned he seen the ISS as “a continuation of the Apollo–Soyuz programme,” the primary crewed worldwide space mission carried out collectively by the USA and Soviet Union in 1975 within the midst of the Chilly Warfare.

That was a time “when the connection between the nations was additionally not easy, when there have been individuals who discovered the way in which which ends up in peace, and the way in which that conflict ends all over the place,” Artemyev mentioned, not mentioning Ukraine by title.

For her half, Cristoforetti praised the work of her fellow crew, saying all of them kind “a tiny a part of the big staff on the bottom” which manages the operations of the space station.

The commander is liable for all duties carried out by the crew members onboard the space station, which orbits greater than 400 kilometres (248 miles) above Earth.

Throughout an emergency, the commander has the authority to take selections with out ready for directions from floor management.

Within the occasion of a hearth, depressurisation or the detection of poisonous environment—the three outlined emergency eventualities—it’s as much as the commander to make sure that the lives of the crew are saved first.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who has served as ISS commander, mentioned final yr that it’s “like being on a ship—there’s solely grasp onboard after God”.

The choice of who turns into commander is made collectively by the 5 space businesses concerned within the station: NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Europe’s ESA, Canada’s CSA and Japan’s JAXA.

© 2022 AFP