The astronaut will occupy this position on responsibility until his return on earth, scheduled for November.
Le Monde with AFP
A prestigious line more on the CV of Thomas Pesquet: The astronaut has become, Monday, October 4, the first French to take orders from the International Space Station (ISS). He took over from his Japanese teammate Akihiko Hoshide (Jaxa), which symbolically handed him the key to the space vehicle during a ceremony, broadcasts on the NASA website .
“I am proud to represent my country up there,” said Thomas Pesquet, 43, arrived aboard the space station in April for the second mission in the orbit of his career. The astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) welcomed, in English, the “active role of France played in aerospace and spatial exploration”.
“Thank you to all policymakers, all engineers, all assets in the space sector. If today I become the first commander of a space vehicle, it is largely to you that I have it”, continued this ex-line pilot, in French this time. “You have been a great teammate and you will be a great commander!” Akihiko Hoshide told him, who was in the orders of the ISS for five months.
“Now, it’s my turn to try to do a good job to keep the mission safe, complete our operational tasks and come back to those we love healthy and happy,” replied the French astronaut, thanking his Japanese colleague for his “fantastic work”.
Furnishing a film in orbit
At this post, which he will occupy until his return on land scheduled in November, Thomas Pesquet will be the official of the other six members with whom he is currently staying in the ISS (three Americans, two Russians and a Japanese ), as well as three new members who are preparing to take off from Baikonour, Kazakhstan, to join the station and turn the first fiction film in orbit.
The commander of the ISS is the one between daily in connection with the ground, and must ensure the proper execution of the tasks assigned to astronauts (scientific experiments, maintenance operations, etc.), in a good atmosphere. In case of emergency, as a fire or depressurization, it is he who has any authority to make the decisions.
These tasks are not comparable to flying an aircraft because the space station flies 400 km above the earth independently, and the orientation maneuvers are made from the ground.