Paolo A. Nespoli
| Paolo A. Nespoli | |
|---|---|
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| ASI/ESA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Status | Active |
| Born |
6 April 1957 Milan, Italy |
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Other occupation
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Italian Army |
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Time in space
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174d 09h 40m |
| Selection | 1998 ESA Group |
| Missions | STS-120, Soyuz TMA-20 (Expedition 26/27), Soyuz MS-05 (Expedition 52/53) |
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Mission insignia
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Paolo Angelo Nespoli (Milan, 6 April 1957) is an Italian astronaut and engineer . In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist of STS-120. In December 2010 he again traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as an Expedition 26/27 flight engineer.
Nespoli's hometown is Verano Brianza, in northern Italy. He is married to Alexandra Ryabova and they have one daughter and a son. Nespoli enjoys Scuba diving, piloting aircraft, photography, building electronic equipment and computer software.
He received his bachelor's degree in Aerospace engineering in 1988 and his master's degree in 1989 in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Polytechnic University in New York.
He is a professional engineer, a private pilot, an advanced scuba diver and a nitrox diver. Due to his military background, he is also a master parachutist, parachute instructor, jump master, high altitude low opening and Special Forces operator. He joined the Italian Army in 1977.
Nespoli has received the following awards:
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2015.
In July 1998, he was selected as an astronaut for Italian Space Agency (ASI) and in August 1998, Nespoli was assigned by the European Space Agency to train at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
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