I started this whole endeavor really. And at the beginning we had the selection in Italy. And that was pretty much among people that had held previous experience in that particular satellite. So, I was in that, in a good position then.

In 2001 Guidoni participated in the Space Shuttle's STS-100 mission being the first European on board International Space Station (ISS). He is a veteran of two NASA space shuttle missions. Present activity

In 2007 was the speaker of the radio program entitled “From the Sputnik to the Shuttle” (the series "At 8 in the evening" by Radio Rai 2) in which he retraced the main steps of the Space Era.

He is a veteran of two NASA space shuttle missions. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2009. Umberto Guidoni (born in Rome 18 August 1954) is an Italian politician and a former ESA astronaut.