Astronaut Paolo Nespoli to speak at TEDxKiruna 13 March 2014

TEDxKiruna proudly presents Astronaut Paolo Nespoli as speaker at TEDxKiruna 13 March 2014.  

Paolo first travelled into space in 2007 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist and in 2010 he flew again aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as flight engineer. Paolo is professional engineer, private pilot, advanced scuba diver, master parachutist and a Special Forces operator.

Paolo Nespoli was born in Milan, Italy, and carried out his primary and high schools in Brianza, the region were his family lived.

In 1977 he carried out his one year compulsory military service in the Italian Army after which he decided to enlist. In 1982, after becoming a Special Forces Operator, he was assigned to the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon, until the beginning of 1984.

He returned to college in 1985 and left the Army active duty in 1987 (he’s currently a Major of the Italian Army Reserve). In 1988 obtained a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering and in 1989 a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics.

At the end of his studies he worked first in an Aerospace R&D Lab in Italy, and then, in 1991, as an astronaut instructor at the Astronaut Centre of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Cologne, Germany. In 1996 he was transferred to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, as a training liaison engineer.

In 1998 he was selected as an astronaut by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), integrated into ESA’s European Astronaut Corps, and transferred to NASA JSC for obtaining the necessary qualification for flying on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.

In 2006 he was assigned to the crew of STS-120. The 15-day space mission was carried out on Space Shuttle Discovery in October-November 2007 and Nespoli was a Mission Specialist with the main task of coordinating the 4 spacewalks carried out during the mission.

In 2008 he was assigned to Expedition 26/27. This 159-day long-duration space mission to the International Space Station took place from December 2010 to May 2011. Nespoli was assigned the task of First Flight Engineer during the launch and re-entry on board the Russian rocket Soyuz, while he was a Mission Specialist and Leader of the US segment on the International Space Station. During his 51⁄2 months in space he carried out scientific and technological experiments, and took part in educational activities. Moreover he used Social Networks to interface with the general public and posted hundreds of pictures he took while in space.

He’s currently a Senior Astronaut of the ESA’s European Astronaut Corps and carries out a variety of technical assignments as well as public relations and outreach activities.

Paolo Nespoli will be speaking at TEDxKiruna on March 13th 2014. 

For more information and to book your ticket www.tedxkiruna.com - we look forward to seeing you. 

About TEDxKiruna 

On March 13th TEDxKiruna returns for the third time for an inspiring day full of amazing speakers sharing their ideas and energy inspiring discussion and perhaps new ventures. We welcome you to one of the world's northernmost TEDx events, hosted in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland, 200 km above the Arctic Circle - right under the magic of the northern light. 

TEDxKiruna is a cross-disciplinary event for people and minds who come together to listen to fascinating speakers inspiring new thoughts and stimulating discussions.The theme of TEDxKiruna 2014 is transformation and for the first time ever, the event is arranged under ground, in the LKAB Visitor Centre, 540 m below ground. 

In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxKiruna, where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxKiruna, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

Spaceport Sweden is the main organizer of TEDxKiruna and is arranging the conference in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland for the third year running, together with partners supporting the mission of ideas worth sharing.