Ax-4 mission manager: Polish astronaut to return to Europe on government plane

After the capsule with the Ax-4 crew members flies from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth after two weeks, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will return to Europe on a Polish government plane, Sergio Palumberi from the European Space Agency (ESA) told PAP.

On June 10, the second Pole in history, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, will fly into orbit in the Ax-4 mission. Since May 25, the astronaut has been in quarantine with his crewmates and several dozen service personnel – including doctors and the ESA support team – a few kilometres from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, where the launch will take place.

The isolation, officially called “stablising the health of the crew,” is intended to prevent any infections among astronauts that could impede their work on the ISS or exclude them from the mission. It is also intended to prevent the transfer of infectious diseases to the space station.

Sergio Palumberi, ESA’s Ax-4 mission manager, is responsible for coordinating all activities related to the participation of Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, as well as for that part of the European experiments in which other astronauts from the crew will participate: Tibor Kapu from Hungary, Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Peggy Whitson (USA).

"My job was to integrate all aspects of the mission. For example, I had to make sure that the tasks related to the experiments fit into the crew's work time in orbit, that the experiment sets had power, data transfer between the ISS and Earth, or access to cold storage," he explained.

He added that each experiment is the responsibility of a different ESA team led by Payload Integration Managers (PIMs). Palumberi oversees these teams for Ax-4 mission activities.

Sergio Palumberi has been working with Uznański-Wiśniewski for about a year and a half. As he pointed out, during that time the astronaut was in contact primarily with teams responsible for his health or training, for example, and they reported to the mission manager on the progress of preparations.

"However, we were in constant contact with Sławosz, we regularly talked on the phone. Our conversations became more frequent shortly before the launch - I wanted to give him as much information as possible to help prepare the flight and work in orbit," the PAP interlocutor noted.

Palumberi will also be the first person to be notified in the event of an emergency on the ISS, such as difficulties in conducting experiments or irregularities in the operation of the space station. Uznański-Wiśniewski will be in constant contact with the Columbus Control Centre, which is responsible for all ESA activities on the ISS, and with his flight doctor – an ESA specialist monitoring the astronaut’s health during all phases of the mission.

It can take several or a dozen hours from the launch of the Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to docking with the International Space Station.

“It all depends on where the ISS will be in orbit at the time of the capsule’s launch, i.e. what distance Dragon will have to cover,” explained the mission manager.

During Uznański-Wiśniewski's stay on the International Space Station (ISS), Palumberi will coordinate ESA operations from the Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Germany. Columbus is the European space laboratory operating on the ISS.

"From the center in Germany, our team will connect with the astronauts on the ISS every day to guide their activities. We will also have special meetings with Sławosz twice a week to discuss the status of the mission," the ESA representative announced.

After completing its mission, Dragon will separate from the ISS, pass through the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. From there, it will be picked up by a helicopter belonging to SpaceX, which is also responsible for, among other things, the capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket that carries astronauts into orbit.

From the airport in California, it will take the Ax-4 crew to Houston – to the headquarters of Axiom Space, the main contractor of the mission. And there, as Palumberi informed, Uznański-Wiśniewski will be met by a plane provided by the Polish government that will transport him to Europe.

The Polish astronaut will undergo his first tests right after landing. He will undergo further tests on the plane – ESA doctors and specialist equipment will be on board. Finally, a comprehensive assessment of Uznański-Wiśniewski's health will be carried out by specialists from ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.

The Pole will spend about a week at EAC, during which he will undergo rehabilitation under the supervision of a space medicine team. He will be led by a doctor who will also accompany Uznański-Wiśniewski during takeoff and landing.

After flying into orbit and spending time in microgravity, every astronaut goes through a process of adapting their body to Earth's conditions, including gravity. Rehabilitation includes aerobic and strength training, balance exercises, and a proper diet. During this time, regular tests are conducted, including muscle strength, circulatory system capacity, and general physical condition.

"After several months of missions on the ISS, changes in the human body are more visible - these include muscle loss and reduced bone density or problems with circulation and balance. However, a two-week stay in orbit should not have such a negative impact on health. We think that after rehabilitation Sławosz will quickly return to top form," admitted Sergio Palumberi.

The regenerated Polish astronaut will take part in the first of numerous so-called debriefings, or summaries of the mission.

"The technical part of the debriefing – with the participation of all operational teams – is planned soon after the crew's return to keep the observations fresh. We will organize further, more detailed debriefings in Europe in the coming months," the Ax-4 manager announced.

He noted that the evaluation of the scientific part of the mission will certainly take longer – perhaps even more than a year.

"Scientists need to be given more time to analyze data from orbit and compare it with the results of experiments conducted on Earth. It will take some time before the research results can be assessed and scientific publications appear," he said.

He argued that patience would pay off because the joint work of researchers and astronauts could lead to many discoveries that would be important for space exploration and would also find applications on Earth.

"Poland's participation in the Ax-4 mission is of key importance not only for the national space sector, but also for the entire European scientific community. That is why we want Poland to remain involved in the development of European science and technology in space. Our cooperation should not end with the mission involving Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, but should only be the beginning of the road," said Sergio Palumberi.

He added: "I love my job because every day I wake up and know that what I do contributes to the progress of humanity."

From Cocoa Beach Anna Bugajska (PAP)

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