Aki ended up being commander on April 27, 2021, when he took over from NASA astronaut Shannon Walker. In September Aki and Thomas carried out the very first spacewalk without a Russian or US astronaut.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide posture for a photo in the Japanese module Kibo on the International Space Station. Credit: ESA/NASA
ESAs very first commander of the International Space Station, now head of the Agencys European Astronaut Centre, Frank de Winne, states the International Space Station team commander holds responsibility for team morale and health and wellbeing. It depends on them to make sure crew members can carry out the jobs required of them throughout their time in space.
Thomas states “I have been blessed to live and work with leader Aki Hoshide, and with commander Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough throughout my very first mission, so I might discover and see how it is done from the very best. Now I just have to follow in their footsteps for the tail end of Expedition 65.”
Infographic showing the astronauts on Expedition 65 and 66 to the International Space Station. Credit: ESA
This is the fourth time a European is leader of the Space Station, and the very first time for France. Thomas follows in the footsteps of ESA astronauts Frank de Winne, Alexander Gerst and Luca Parmitano.
2 new crews are set to come to the Space Station this month, with a new targeted launch date of 30 October simply announced for ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer as a member of United States Commercial Crew-3.
Matthiass six-month Cosmic Kiss objective will be his first time in space and the very first time an ESA astronaut will be in command while 2 European astronauts remain in orbit.
When Expedition 65 ends up being Expedition 66, Thomas will hand over commander to Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov.
The International Space Station as seen from Soyuz-MS18 as the spacecraft circled around to a new docking port on September 28, 2021. Credit: Roscosmos
On October 4, 2021, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet ended up being leader of the International Space Station, taking over from Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide. Thomas will hold this function until soon before Crew-2 go back to Earth in November.
Thomas formally accepted his brand-new position throughout a conventional event, broadcast live from the International Space Station, where a symbolic handover of a secret from Aki to Thomas signified the modification of command.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet (left) and JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide (right) carried out a spacewalk on September 12, 2021, to prepare another section of the International Space Station for its photovoltaic panel upgrade. Credit: NASA
The full title of this function is International Space Station crew commander. While general command of the Station lies with ground-based flight directors, unless there is an emergency on board, the role of team commander is essential to objective success.