View source for European Astronaut Centre

{{short description|ESA field center in Köln, Germany}}
{{Infobox Space agency
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|name          = <!-- start collapsible list of ESA translations -->
<div style="width: 263px; float: right; margin: 0 10px -6px 10px; padding: 0;">
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|owner         = [[European Space Agency]]
|seal          = 
|seal_size     = 240px
|image         = ESA European Astronaut Centre.jpg
|size          = 
|caption       = ESA European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.
|acronym       = {{hlist|class=nowrap |EAC }}
|head          = [[Frank De Winne]]
|URL           = {{URL|http://www.esa.int/eac}}
}}

The '''European Astronaut Centre''' ('''EAC''') (German: Europäisches Astronautenzentrum, French: Centre des astronautes européens), is an establishment of the [[European Space Agency]] and home of the [[European Astronaut Corps]]. It is near to [[Cologne]], Germany, and is subdivided into six separate arms, these being Astronaut Training, Space Medicine, Astronaut Management,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.esa.int/About_Us/EAC/What_we_do|title=What we do|last=esa|newspaper=European Space Agency|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref> Human Exploration of the Moon as part of the Spaceship EAC initiative<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.esa.int/About_Us/EAC/European_researchers_invited_to_board_Spaceship_EAC|title=European researchers invited to board Spaceship EAC|last=esa|newspaper=European Space Agency|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=European Space Agency on Youtube|title=SpaceShip EAC heading for the Moon|date=2016-02-15|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql566z4CNTY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/ql566z4CNTY |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-10-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and Communications. It provides training facilities for European and international partner astronauts (including a [[neutral buoyancy pool]]), particularly regarding ESA hardware for the [[International Space Station|ISS]] such as [[Columbus (ISS module)|Columbus]] and formerly the [[Automated Transfer Vehicle|ATV]]. The overall European Astronaut Centre organisation is also in charge of the organisation of the training of European astronauts in the centers of other partners, such as the United States ([[Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center|NASA Johnson Space Center]]), Russia ([[Star City, Russia|Star City]]), Canada ([[Saint-Hubert, Quebec|Saint-Hubert]]) or Japan ([[Tsukuba, Ibaraki|Tsukuba]]).

The Medical Operations arm (the [[Crew Medical Support Office]]) concentrates on providing health related support to the European astronauts and their families. Astronaut management supports and directs the careers and mission placements of the astronauts, and Education and PR are involved in activities related to education and outreach and the appropriate representation of the European astronauts and their space activities to the public.

==See also==
* [[ESA Centre for Earth Observation]] (ESRIN)
* [[European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications]] (ECSAT)
* [[European Space Agency]] (ESA)
* [[European Space Astronomy Centre]] (ESAC)
* [[European Space Operations Centre]] (ESOC)
* [[European Space Research and Technology Centre]] (ESTEC)
* [[ESTRACK|European Space Tracking Network]] (ESTRACK)
* [[Guiana Space Centre]] (CSG)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|European Astronaut Centre}}
* [http://www.esa.int/About_Us/EAC ESA EAC site]
* [http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Astronauts/The_European_Astronaut_Centre ESA page with information about EAC]
* [http://blogs.esa.int/astronauts/ ESA Astronauts blog]
* {{Twitter}}

{{ESA Astronaut Groups}}
{{European human spaceflight}}
{{European Space Agency}}

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{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

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[[Category:European Space Agency facilities]]
[[Category:Space technology research institutes]]
[[Category:Neutral buoyancy pools]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Cologne]]
[[Category:Porz]]


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