Patch Us In: Umberto Guidoni, STS-100
In this week’s instalment of Patch Us In, ESA patch expert Carl Walker talks about STS-100, the spaceflight that took the first European astronaut to the International Space Station 20 years ago.
The International Space Station has been orbiting Earth for over two decades and, last month, ESA celebrated 20 years of EEuropean astronauts on the Space Station.
The first European astronaut to arrive there was Italian ESA astronaut Umberto Guidoni on 21 April 2001. Umberto flew to the Station on the US Space Shuttle STS-100 mission, launched on 19 April that year. He first entered the Station a few days later on 23 April after the hatch opening between the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Space Station.
“Twenty years ago, with six other crew members I had the privilege to participate in one of the earliest assembly missions of the Space Station. I was the first European to visit the ISS but I felt a responsibility to represent not only my country but the entire European continent,” said Umberto.
“Working on board the ISS, I felt I was making a small contribution to building humankind’s first outpost in space. The spirit of international collaboration was well-represented by our diverse crew, made up of four Americans, a Canadian, a Russian and myself, a European with an Italian flag.
“We should be proud of more than two decades of human presence in orbit, not only for the scientific and technical achievements, but above all, because up there a small group of men and women have proved what we could achieve by working together for the progress of humankind. It is the most important lesson of the ISS project, especially significant in this difficult time for the planet,” added Umberto.
The 11-day STS-100 mission was the ninth Shuttle visit to the Station and included two spacewalks. The main payloads were the Italian-built Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and Canada's giant robotic arm, that went on to help continue construction of the Station to the football-field-sized outpost it is today, with three laboratory modules, an airlock and more.
The STS-100 patch reflects the complex interaction of robotics and extravehicular activity on this mission. Spacewalks were conducted to deploy the Station’s robotic arm. The EVA helmet frames the patch, with the Canadian robotic arm shown below the visor. Reflected in the visor is the Shuttle Endeavour, with the Station rising above the horizon at sunrise. In the Shuttle's payload bay is a Spacelab pallet, holding the robotic arm and the Italian Raffaello module.
When asked, the crew members are modest in saying who designed the patch, maintaining it was a team effort. Scott Parazynski said, “The entire crew was involved and we had it polished by a graphics expert we worked with.” Chris Hadfield confirmed, “Scott Parazynski and I worked on this, with huge help from Paul Fjeld.” Paul is a well-known illustrator and official NASA artist, famous for his paintings of Apollo, Skylab, ASTP and Space Shuttle missions, which have been shown on TV news channels, and used in magazines and other publications. He also designed the patches for STS-90 and Expedition 35.
The American, Russian, Canadian and Italian astronauts are represented by their stylised national flags in the lower part of the patch. Ten stars represent the children of the STS-100 crew and the future of space exploration.
Since Umberto’s mission, there have been 26 further ESA astronaut missions to the Space Station, with astronauts flying on either the Russian Soyuz or US Space Shuttle spacecraft. Umberto went on to become a member of the European Parliament after his historic flight.
• You can get your own Space Rocks mission patches here!
