First European Commander of the ISS 190
RobGoldsmith writes 'ESA astronaut Frank De Winne became the first European commander of the International Space Station this morning with the departure of Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka who had filled this role since April. De Winne is the first non-American and non-Russian to take on this role. Watch the videos and view images here.'
Russia... (Score:5, Insightful)
isn't part of Europe?
Re:Russia... (Score:2, Insightful)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady_Padalka [wikipedia.org]
But he's from the almost the furthest west bit (due south of Moscow)
Russia Is Clearly European (Score:5, Insightful)
Have you even been to Europe? Of course we consider Russians Europeans! There is no doubt about that! People from the Soviet Republics however are a different matter, and even within the present Russian Federation there are many ethnic peoples!
We sometimes make the distinction because they are so large and have gone through a tough time lately (from Soviet times to Putin). Imperial Russia was at the heart of Europe, and only the Soviet era changed that. St Petersburg was the crown of Russias European identity!
Slavs are Europeans no matter what country in Europe they come from. Slavs are not limited to Russia you know, from Serbia to Russia Eastern Europe is full of Slavic people(s).
I'm a European, specifically a Scandinavian, and we absolutely see Russians as Europeans.
Re:ESA NOT EU (Score:2, Insightful)
seriously... (Score:5, Insightful)
Something happens on the space station and for some reason the station cant communicate with earth...whos in charge?
The station commander.
In an emergency he would make certain decisions such abandon the station or stay put.
While ground controllers can give direction, you always want to have someone on site who can actually
act on those directions and tell people what to do. A station commander is not for things you expect, its for the things
you dont expect.
Re:Let me be the first... (Score:5, Insightful)