Courtesy of the European Space Agency
THE BIG GUN Night falls on the latest, most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket, being readied for liftoff from the Guiana Space Centre off the northern coast of South America. The rocket has two solid-fuel boosters and a main tank that carries 173 tons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. That fuel is fed into the new Vulcain 2 engine—the engine that may carry European astronauts to Mars.
At six foot two, André Kuipers does not necessarily stand out among his dutch compatriots at a cocktail party, but as an astronaut he is a giant. He is also something of a hometown hero in the Netherlands. Kuipers is one of 13 European astronauts who proudly work alongside their American and Russian colleagues on the International Space Station. In his most recent assignment, he spent nine days aboard the station and performed nearly two ...
