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Soyuz
Contracted to Launch French Astronaut to ISS
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CNES, the French space agency, signed
an agreement with Russia’s Rosaviacosmos to launch French
astronaut Claudie André-Deshays to the International Space Station
for an 8 day mission in October 2001. The contract is expected to be
a precursor to additional future missions which will permit European
astronauts more frequent access to the international  space
station. The Soyuz capsule will be flown to the station to serve as
a “fresh” crew rescue vehicle. Return flight will be made in the
spacecraft which will have been in place for the six previous
months, the maximum amount of time that a Soyuz capsule can remain
unused. These Soyuz spacecraft replacement missions, which are
scheduled approximately every six months, is an example of Europe
taking advantage of opportunities to get access to the station.
In
the past André-Deshays has commented that short-duration missions
of less than two months were of little scientific value. She visited
the Mir space station August 19 - Sep 2, 1996 for 15.8 days in
space. André-Deshays is qualified as a Soyuz Return Commander, the
designation for those in charge of the three-person Soyuz capsule in
case an emergency return becomes necessary. André-Deshays was
selected as a CNES astronaut in 1985, and joined ESA's European
Astronaut corps in 1999. She is trained for EVA (extravehicular
activity) and obtained the qualification of "cosmonaut
engineer" both for the Soyuz vehicle and Mir. André-Deshays is
married to French astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré. 
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