Thomas Pesquet returns to space

The astronaut is scheduled to take off at 11:49 a.m. from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to reach the International Space Station (ISS). The spaceship will be piloted by American Megan McArthur and command of the capsule by Shane Kimbrough, also American. The French astronaut is expected to stay there for six months, thus beating the record of 209 cumulative days spent in orbit held by Jean-Pierre Haigneré. In three months, he will be the first French to take command of the station. "It's going to be a little more responsibility: take care less of my own activities and take care of other people's activities a little more, try to make everything work well, talk to the control center, understand, do pass messages, try to put oil in the cogs, unpin conflicts before they start. If ever we had an emergency situation, there is only one who has the decision-making power, and that is the captain, "he explains.

All press, April 23