ESA-Columbus Station Training

Communication between the Space Station and the Earth

About a week before the beginning of training you receive your preparatory materials. In particular please go through the introduction to voice communications meticulously because the training requires some basic knowledge.

After the welcoming in the auditorium and a brief introduction to the training schedule you will get a general picture of the International Space Station (ISS) in a three-dimensional virtual reality presentation. Then the personal equipment will be handed out to you. You put on your spacesuit with name badge and mission patch and receive the training documents.

In an overview of the current operational data of the International Space Station you become familiar with the basic systems of the Columbus module and are informed in detail about the training programmes of the astronauts and the requirements. In between you work out with a few laps in the Aerotrim and are subjected to a short medical check.

After lunch you are prepared intensively for your mission. You learn how to set up radio contact and maintain it under operating conditions, orient yourself in the various loops in which the specialists in the respective fields of operation communicate with each other and practise how and under what conditions you can intervene in these protocols. After these lessons you become familiar with the sites of your mission training: the Columbus module and the simulation & diagnosis room. There you work with the communication hardware, familiarize yourself with its operation and carry out again the most important procedures.

Under professional guidance you inspect the clean rooms in which the Columbus module, parts of the Ariane 5 rocket and the ATV are built and are explained the special requirements of clean room assembly. In a presentation you then experience what the everyday work of an astronaut at the space station is like.

In the debriefing on the first day of training the goals of the day are summarized again and further important data for the mission on the second day are presented. On the evening of the first training day all trainees meet for a social dinner at the gourmet restaurant with the trainers and coordinators of the training programme. The day ends with an extended dinner and the impressions of the day are discussed in a relaxed atmosphere.

The second day begins with training in the Software Integration and Test Environment (SITE). You learn how the control software of a space vehicle is checked and made operational long before the corresponding vehicle is assembled. During mission preparation the basic data for your mission are explained, including the current status of the station and ground control as well as the practical goals of the mission.

First of all, however, you get to know another facet of life at the space station during the Astronaut Lunch, at which genuine astronaut food is prepared for you. You will be surprised at how tasty the food is that the astronauts eat on board the ISS.

And then it's time for mission training on board the space station and in the control room. The members of the team perform their respective roles and carry out the emergency training in accordance with the previously prepared onboard short-term plan. You repair a defective cooling system, change filters in the microgravity science glovebox and at the same time maintain the 'normal' procedures on board, always in contact with the ground station, which monitors compliance with the procedures.

After completion of all training tasks of both teams the crews change stations and the training procedures are performed again, but with reversed roles. After successful participation you are finally presented with the official training certificate during the debriefing. The two-day training programme ends with a small final celebration.

The entire programme is carried out by professional astronaut trainers on the basis of the original training manuals in German and English; the electronic and printed preparatory documents and handouts are written in English.