André Kuipers (Dutch: [ˈɑndreː ˈkœypərs]) was born on October 5, 1958. He is a Dutch doctor and a European Space Agency astronaut. He became the second Dutch citizen, third person born in the Netherlands, and fifth person who speaks Dutch to travel to space when he launched aboard Soyuz TMA-4 on April 19, 2004. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-3 eleven days later.
Kuipers was the first Dutch astronaut to return to space. On August 5, 2009, Maria van der Hoeven, the Dutch minister of economic affairs, announced that Kuipers was chosen to be an astronaut for International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 30 and Expedition 31. He launched into space on December 21, 2011, and returned to Earth on July 1, 2012.
Personal life and education
André Kuipers was born on October 5, 1958, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He completed high school in Amsterdam in 1977 and earned a medical degree from the University of Amsterdam in 1987. He is married and has three daughters and one son.
When asked about his early life, Kuipers shared that he wanted to become an astronaut since he was a teenager. His dream came true when he was chosen to join the European Astronaut Corps in 1998.
Space flight experience
Kuipers has participated in two space missions. His first mission was the DELTA mission in 2004. In May 2009, he acted as the backup for Belgian astronaut Frank de Winne, who later became the commander of Expedition 21 during his six-month mission. On 21 December 2011, Kuipers began his second spaceflight, called PromISSe, as part of Expedition 30 and Expedition 31. He returned to Earth on 1 July 2012.
Using the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft, which was attached to a Soyuz-FG rocket, Kuipers traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) with cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (Russia) and Michael Fincke (USA) on 19 April 2004. The spacecraft successfully docked to the ISS two days later.
During his DELTA mission, Kuipers worked on 21 experiments about different topics, including physiology, biology, microbiology, medicine, technology improvements, physics, and Earth observation. One experiment focused on creating more energy-efficient lighting as part of the Arges project, which was supported by Eindhoven University of Technology and Philips Electronics. Another well-known experiment studied plant growth, called "Seeds in Space." Kuipers worked with students in the Netherlands to compare plant growth results from space with those on Earth.
Padalka and Fincke stayed on the ISS for six months as part of Expedition 9.
Kuipers returned to Earth about 11 days after his launch on 30 April 2004, along with crew members Alexander Kaleri (Russia) and Michael Foale (US), who completed their six-month mission on the ISS.
In November 2008, Maria van der Hoeven, the Dutch minister of economic affairs, supported a second mission for Kuipers in 2011. She also announced she would provide extra funding for the ISS project.
After a meeting with ESA director general Jean-Jacques Dordain in August 2009, Maria van der Hoeven confirmed that Kuipers would go on a second spaceflight, starting in December 2011. Kuipers was the first astronaut chosen for ISS Expeditions 30 and 31. He launched on 21 December 2011 aboard the Soyuz TMA-03M with cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko (Russia) and astronaut Don Pettit (USA). Their spacecraft arrived at the ISS on 23 December 2011 after docking with the Rassvet module on the Russian side. They returned to Earth on 1 July 2012 when their Soyuz TMA-03M landed in the steppe of Kazakhstan.
Honours
- Received the title of Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau on May 17, 2004, in the Netherlands.
- Awarded the title of Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion on October 15, 2012, in the Netherlands.
- Named an honorary citizen of Haarlemmermeer on October 15, 2012, in the Netherlands.
- Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam on January 8, 2013, in the Netherlands.
- Received the Order of Friendship on July 3, 2013, in the Russian Federation.
- Served as King of Arms during the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander in 2013.