On 9 September 2026, the European Space Agency signed an agreement with the US company Vast on behalf of Greece. ESA will implement an astronaut mission for Greece to the International Space Station. The flight is part of the first private astronaut mission to the ISS that NASA awarded to Vast.
The crew
Subject to review and approval by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel of the five ISS partners, Adrianos Golemis will serve as mission specialist. He is a flight surgeon working for ESA and would become the first Greek astronaut. He is planned to fly with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet as commander and ESA project astronaut Aleš Svoboda as pilot.
Launch and timeline
The mission is planned for 2027. SpaceX will provide transport on a Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9. Golemis is now officially an ESA project astronaut and starts mission-specific training in Europe and the United States, including a programme with Vast, SpaceX and NASA.
"This is a historic moment for Greece: a national ambition becoming a concrete human spaceflight mission."Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General
A growing model for Europe
The agreement follows a similar ESA agreement with Vast on behalf of the Czech Republic in June 2026. For smaller ESA member states, private astronaut missions booked through ESA offer a way to fly a national astronaut without developing their own spacecraft. ESA supports the countries with training, scientific payloads and educational activities.
Related reading
- After the ISS: Who Is Building the Commercial Space Stations?
- How Astronauts Train: From Basic Training to Spacewalk Practice
- How Do Crew and Supplies Get to the ISS? The Space Station Supply Chain Explained
Sources
- ESA, "ESA signs an Agreement with Vast on behalf of Greece", press release N° 46-2026, 9 September 2026: esa.int
- ESA, "ESA signs an Agreement with Vast on behalf of the Czech Republic", 8 June 2026: esa.int
Cover image: A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station, 2 August 2025. Image: NASA, images.nasa.gov.