Astronaut André Kuipers has handed over a Dutch flag that he had taken to the International Space Station to the Rijksmuseum. Today we will reflect on the fact that the space station has been inhabited continuously for twenty years.
In 2011, Kuipers took the flag with him on his second mission to the International Space Station. His 193-day stay in space was the longest European space flight to date. During this mission he was flight engineer one of the Soyuz missile. He did maintenance and repairs and conducted more than fifty scientific experiments.
National Heritage
Kuipers used the flag as a backdrop for live TV connections with the earth. Before he took the flag back, Kuipers had it signed by all crew members. The flag features the signatures of American astronauts Don Pettit and Joe Acaba, as well as Russians Oleg Kononenko, Gennadi Padalka and Sergej Revin.
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