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Nespoli
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Paolo Alberto Nespoli Italian Mission Specialist Astronaut. Born 6 April 1957.

Personal: M, Single. Born in Milan, Italy.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 17 - 1998. Active Entered space service: 27 August 1998. Number of Flights: 1.00. Total Time: 15.10 days.

Official NASA Biography

NAME: Paolo Angelo Nespoli
ESA Astronaut (Mission Specialist Candidate)

PERSONAL DATA:
Born April 6, 1957 in Milan, Italy. His hometown is Verano Brianza, Milan, Italy, where his mother Maria, father Luigi, brother Raoul and sisters Antonella and Lia live. He is single. Recreational interests include SCUBA diving, aircraft piloting, assembly of computer hardware and electronic equipment, computer software.

EDUCATION:
In 1977, he graduated from the Liceo Scientifico Statale Paolo Frisi of Desio, Milano, Italy. In 1988, he received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of New York and, in 1989, received a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the same institution. In 1990, the Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy, recognized a Laurea in Ingegneria Meccanica.

QUALIFICATIONS - LICENSES:
Civilian: Professional Engineer, Private Pilot, Advanced SCUBA Diver, NitrOx diver. Military: Master Parachutist, Parachutist Instructor, Jump Master, High Altitude Low Opening, Demolition expert, Special Forces operator.

AWARDS:
Team Achievement Awards for: Space Mission Mir97 (German Space Agency), Space Mission EUROMIR 95 (European Space Agency), NASA-Mir Program (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Space Mission EUROMIR 94 (European Space Agency), Bed Rest Experiment (European Space Agency – French Space Agency), Columbus Utilization Simulation (European Space Agency).

EXPERIENCE:
Nespoli was drafted by the Italian Army in 1977, and became a non-commissioned officer working as a parachute instructor at the Scuola Militare di Paracadutismo of Pisa. In 1980, he joined the 9° Btg d'Assalto "Col Moschin" of Livorno where he became a Special Forces operator. From 1982 to 1984, he was assigned to the Italian contingent of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. Following his return to Italy, he was appointed an officer and continued working as a Special Forces operator. He resumed college studies in 1985. Nespoli left Army active duty in 1987. In 1988 and 1989, he obtained a BS and an MS from the Polytechnic University of New York. He returned to Italy in 1989 to work as a design engineer for Proel Tecnologie in Florence, where he conducted mechanical analysis and supported the qualification of the flight units of the Electron Gun Assembly, one of the main parts of the Italian Space Agency's Tethered Satellite System (TSS). In 1991, he joined the Astronaut Training Division , European Astronaut Centre, European Space Agency (ESA), Cologne, Germany. As an astronaut training engineer, he contributed to the preparation and implementation of European astronaut basic training and he was responsible for the preparation and management of astronaut proficiency maintenance. He was also responsible for the Astronaut Training Database, a software system used for the preparation and management of astronaut training. In 1995, he was detached to ESA's EUROMIR Project in the European Space Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, where he was responsible for the team that prepared, integrated and supported the Payload and Crew Support Computer used on the Russian space station Mir. Detached to NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas in 1996, he worked in the Spaceflight Training Division on the preparation of training for the ground and in-orbit crew of the International Space Station. Following his selection in July 1998 by the Italian Space Agency, he was sent to the European Space Agency where he joined the European Astronaut Corps.

NASA EXPERIENCE:
In August 1998, he reported to the Johnson Space Center , Houston, Texas. He is currently attending Astronaut Candidate Training which includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Following a period of training and evaluation, Nespoli will receive technical assignments within the Astronaut Office before being assigned to a space flight.

OCTOBER 1998
Nespoli Spaceflight Log

  • 23 October 2007 Flight: STS-120. Flight Up: STS-120. Flight Back: STS-120. Flight Time: 15.10 days.
Nespoli Chronology

19 July 1985 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 17 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Of 25 Americans, eight pilots and 17 mission specialists.

23 October 2007 - STS-120. Main mission objectives were delivery of the Harmony module to the station, and external work to move the P6 truss to its final location and put the ISS into its full-power configuration for the first time. Discovery docked with the ISS at the Destiny module at 12:40 GMT on 25 October. The cargo of 17,390 kg was as follows:
  • Orbiter Docking System - Bay 1-2 - 1800 kg
  • Spacesuit EMU 3004 - 130 kg
  • Spacesuit EMU 3003 - 130 kg
  • Station Power Distribution Unit SPDU - Bay 3P - 100 kg
  • Fixture for return of S-band Antenna - SASA FSE - Bay 3P - 4S - 100 kg
  • Power/Data Grapple Fixture for Node-2 - PDGF - Bay 5P - 50 kg
  • Main Bus Switching Unit - MBSU - Bay 6S - 238 kg
  • MBSU adapter - Bay 6S - 122 kg
  • Station Power Distribution Unit - SPDU - Bay 6S - 7P - 100 kg
  • Node-2 Harmony module - Bays 8-12 - 14,300 kg
  • OBSS 203 - Sill 450 kg
  • RMS 301 - Sill 410 kg
23 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #01. The Space Shuttle Discovery raced into space this morning with an on-time launch at 10:38 CDT. Onboard are seven crewmembers led by veteran astronaut Pam Melroy. Discovery's crew will join the International Space Station’s Expedition 16 crew Thursday morning.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #01.

23 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #02. The Space Shuttle Discovery is headed to the International Space Station, carrying the Harmony module, destined to become the first expansion of the orbiting complex's living and working space since 2001.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #02.

24 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #03. The astronauts on board Space Shuttle Discovery have begun their first full day in space on a two-week mission to set the stage for delivery of new laboratory modules from two more of the International Space Station’s partner agencies.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #03.

24 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #04. The seven-member crew of STS-120 on board Space Shuttle Discovery is ready for tomorrow’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, planned for 7:33 a.m. CDT.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #04.

26 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #8. It proved to be a perfect day for a spacewalk. In just over six hours, STS-120 Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock installed the Harmony module in its temporary location on the International Space Station, readied the P6 truss for its relocation on Sunday, retrieved a failed radio communications antenna and snapped shut a window cover on Harmony that opened during launch on the space shuttle.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #8.

27 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #09. Today is the grand opening of the International Space Station’s newest module, a connecting node that will host new laboratory complexes from around the world.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #09.

27 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #10. Astronauts at the International Space Station now have a little more room to float around in – 2,666 cubic feet more, to be exact.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #10.

29 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #13. With two successful spacewalks completed in three days, the crews on Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station have some time to relax today while also completing a big handoff and getting prepared for another EVA on Tuesday.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #13.

31 October 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #17. Crew members on space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station will spend today preparing for a spacewalk designed to learn more about the joint that rotates the starboard side solar arrays.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #17.

31 October 2007 - ISS On-Orbit Status 10/31/07. Day 146 for Clayton Anderson. Flight Day 9 for STS-120/10A; Day 7 of Joint Ops.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 10/31/07.

4 November 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #26. Spacefarers aboard Discovery and the International Space Station congratulated one another on a successful docked mission, shared hugs and farewells and closed the hatches 210 miles above the Pacific Northwest at 2:03 p.m. CST.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #26.

5 November 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #27. All systems are go for this morning’s undocking of space shuttle Discovery from the International Space Station, completing 11 days of joint docked operations that saw the successful delivery of a new pressurized module and the repair of a damaged solar array wing.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #27.

7 November 2007 - Landing of STS-120.
7 November 2007 - STS-120 MCC Status Report #32. After 6.25 million miles and 15 days, space shuttle Discovery landed safely in Florida completing its 34th mission and circling the Earth 238 times.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #32.

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