Roberto Vittori
Roberto Vittori OMRI | |
---|---|
1998 ESA Group | |
Missions | Soyuz TM-34/TM-33, Soyuz TMA-6/TMA-5, STS-134 |
Mission insignia |
Brigadier Roberto Vittori, OMRI (born 15 October 1964, in Viterbo) is an Italian Air Force officer and an ESA astronaut. After graduating from the Italian Accademia Aeronautica in 1989, Vittori flew in the Italian Air Force. He then trained as a test pilot in the United States.
In 1998, Vittori was selected by the ESA to join the
Career
Vittori graduated from the
In August 1998, after selection by ESA to join the European Astronaut Corps, he reported to the
Soyuz TM-34
From April 25 to May 5, 2002, Vittori participated in the
Soyuz TMA-6
On 15 April 2005 Vittori participated in a second taxi-flight to the International Space Station (ISS), Soyuz TMA-6, returning to Earth on 24 April in the Soyuz TMA-5 capsule. He became the first European astronaut to visit the ISS twice and conducted experiments in upper limb fatigue in astronauts and germination of herbaceous plant seeds for possible space nutrition.
The astronaut also had a painting of the artist George Pusenkoff titled Single Mona Lisa (1:1) with him and took photos with it on the International Space Station.[1] It is the ultimate continuation of the project "Mona Lisa Travels" developed by Pusenkoff and could only be realized under difficult conditions. The authorities found the idea good in theory, but constantly put forward new reasons why the project was unrealizable. Only when George Pusenkoff wrote to the then Italian ambassador in Russia, Gianfranco Facco Bonetti, the possibility of realizing the idea arose. The connection between science and art, which was also important in Leonardo da Vinci's life, found here an "actualization" in the form of this journey of an image of Mona Lisa into space. For the action, Pusenkoff's painting was removed from the frame so that it could be rolled. On April 25, 2005, Vittori took the painting back to the Earth with him.
STS-134
Vittori was a mission specialist for NASA Space Shuttle mission STS-134 in 2011. He is the last non-US astronaut to have flown on the Shuttle.
Personal life
Vittori has 3 sons.
While living in Washington, DC in 2015, Vittori was nearly single-handedly responsible for the rerouting of flight paths from
Gallery
-
Vittori participates in training exercises for the STS-134 mission.
-
Vittori in the rear station of a NASA T-38 trainer jet.
-
Vittori (right) with fellow ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli aboard the ISS.
References
- ISBN 978-3866780705.