posted 09-14-2011 02:57 AM               

Any cS forum members going that way?

German Aerospace Day at DLR in Cologne – a live encounter with astronauts and high-tech research

Guests of honour: the Airbus A380 and SOFIA, the airborne observatory

On 18 September 2011, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is holding its Aerospace Day in Cologne-Porz. On this date, DLR and the European Space Agency (ESA) -- alongside other partners, will be showcasing their research projects from the aerospace, energy and transport sectors.

High-tech will be on show for young and old visitors alike to encounter and experience. Philipp Roesler, the German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology is the patron of the event.

SOFIA, the airborne observatory, will be making its first ever appearance in Europe. SOFIA is a Boeing 747 with an infrared telescope installed at the rear of the fuselage. The Airbus A380 and DLR's fleet of research aircraft will also be shown to the general public.

On German Aerospace Day, between 10:00 and 18:00, DLR's institutes and facilities will be opening their doors and showcasing their work on the 'Knowledge for Tomorrow'. Among other things, scientists and engineers will be presenting their work on space medicine and its terrestrial applications in the fields of telemedicine and travel medicine.

The aero-engines of the future will also be exhibited; these will enable aircraft to fly more quietly and with lower levels of pollutant emissions. Another range of displays will be presenting high-tech materials for aircraft and spacecraft.

Visitors can inform themselves about on-going space missions, such as research work on the International Space Station (ISS), and also take a look inside the operations centre for the landing module of the Rosetta comet mission. Astronauts undergoing training at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) for living and working on the ISS will be reporting on their work and life in space.

posted 09-14-2011 08:56 AM               

The Right Stuff gathering at the EAC astronaut centre on 18 September will include ESA's Paolo Nespoli and Roberto Vittori with NASA crewmates Catherine Coleman, Gregory Johnson, Michael Finke, Andrew Feustel and Gregory Chamitoff.

EAC will open its doors at 10:00 CEST, with the exciting presentations beginning at 11:15, starting with the 'DAMA' mission.

Last May's Space Shuttle lofted a major science package to the International Space Station to hunt for 'dark matter' - hence the name DAMA for the mission of ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori.

All the Shuttle crew will come to Cologne and talk about their extraordinary flight.

The next EAC highlight is the MagISStra mission. ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli worked on the Space Station for almost six months until last June. His tweets and photos entertained a large audience, and now he will tell the story of his mission assisted by crewmate Catherine Coleman.

Other ESA astronauts, including Thomas Reiter, now leading the Agency's human spaceflight and operations, Michel Tognini, head of EAC, and most of ESA's new astronaut group will be also around.

posted 09-20-2011 02:53 PM               

The queue for 'autogrammen' did become long and slow but everyone was patient including all of the astronauts. The astronauts signed in groups of three and four changing regularly. The only problem with that was the astronaut you saw signing before you joined the queue was often not there by the time you got to the table.

I personally didn't manage to get Cady Coleman, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel, Paolo Nespoli or Roberto Vittori. There was however additional astronauts to the ones advertised so all in all a great encounter. I'll sort the many photos and add them later.