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André Kuipers

Dutch - (ESA)

Retired

Date of Birth: Oct. 5, 1958
Age: 67


André Kuipers is a Dutch physician and ESA astronaut. He became the second Dutch citizen, third Dutch-born and fifth Dutch-speaking astronaut upon launch of Soyuz TMA-4 on 19 April 2004. Kuipers returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3 11 days later. Kuipers is the first Dutch astronaut to return to space. On 5 August 2009, Dutch minister of economic affairs Maria van der Hoeven, announced Kuipers was selected as an astronaut for International Space Station (ISS) Expeditions 30 and 31. He was launched to space on 21 December 2011 and returned to Earth on 1 July 2012.

Soyuz-FG | Soyuz TMA-3

Progress Rocket Space Center | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Oct. 18, 2003, 5:38 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Soyuz TMA-3 begins Expedition 8 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri alongside Flight Engineers, Michael Foale (NASA) & Pedro Duque (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on April 30, 2004, 00:11:15 UTC

Low Earth Orbit
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Soyuz-FG | Soyuz TMA-4

Progress Rocket Space Center | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
April 19, 2004, 3:19 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Soyuz TMA-4 begins Expedition 9 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka alongside Flight Engineers, Michael Fincke (NASA) & André Kuipers (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on October 24, 2004, 00:35:00 UTC

Low Earth Orbit
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Soyuz FG | Soyuz TMA-03M

Progress Rocket Space Center | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Dec. 21, 2011, 1:16 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Soyuz TMA-03M begins expedition 30 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko alongside Flight Engineers, André Kuipers (ESA) & Donald Pettit (NASA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on 1 July 2012, 08:14 UTC

Low Earth Orbit
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Director General: Josef Aschbacher

The 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.


Long March 3B/E
Success
6 days, 9 hours ago
Fengyun-4C
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

China's geostationary meteorological satellite program FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) is the second generation of chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week ago
SatNet LEO Group 17
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week ago
Obzor-R No.1
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Assignment of payloads to this launch is uncertain. The Russian Obzor-R satellite is a planned X-band radar earth observation satellite desi…


LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
BlueBird Block 2 #1
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…


Long March 12A
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Demo Flight
Long March 12A Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of CASC/SAST’s Long March 12A rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage attempted to land on a landing pad about 300 km …