Christer Fuglesang prepares for take-off

In 1992 Christer Fuglesang was chosen as a crew member of the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station, which is now scheduled for launch in December 2006. Fuglesang started training at Star City cosmonaut training centre near Moscow, Russia, in 1993. It was here he first met fellow ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, whom he will bring back from the ISS in December. At Star City he learned how to operate the Soyuz spacecraft, but the toughest part of the training was to learn the Russian language.The STS-116 flight continues a series of complex missions to complete the ISS. Fuglesang's main task will be to take part in two spacewalks or extra-vehicular activities (EVAs). Together with fellow STS-116 crew member Robert Curbeam, Fuglesang will have the challenging task of adding a large truss section to the outside of the Station. ESApod video programme