Astronauts experience the BMW universe

ESA astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) Commander Frank De Winne of Belgium and his colleagues Robert Thirsk (Canada) and Roman Romanenko (Russia) changed the navigation of the spaceships through the cosmos to go behind the wheel of BMW cars. The three astronauts went to BMW Group in Munich to learn more about the design, innovations and driving of the German cars.

The crew from the ISS was particularly curious about the exhibition at BMW Welt on mobility concerns of the future and fuel-saving measures that can already be found in BMW vehicles.

"As an astronaut I’m always interested in cutting-edge and future-proof solutions that get me where I want to go both personally and professionally. I can see the same zeal here as well," said De Winne.

The astronauts then had the opportunity to drive models from BMW M GmbH. They first were prepared by the BMW Driver Training instructors that made them go through a series of exercises so that they could get the best experience out of the M range models. Their newly acquired knowledge was put in action, with the astronauts driving a selection of models in the product range, which included the M3, the M6, the X5 and X6 M.

"It was fascinating to see with what precision a car responds when you drive it properly. Like an aircraft, it immediately obeys the pilot’s every command. For me it means that if I control my car properly, I’m safer out on the road,” said Frank De Winne.

The astronauts

Frank De Winne became the second Belgian astronaut in space when he made is debut flight on-board the International Space Station in 2002. During Expedition 20, in October 2009 De Winne was appointed the Commander of the ISS, becoming the first European to occupy this post.

Robert Thirsk was an on-board engineer for the International Space Station during ISS Expedition 20. He remained aboard the ISS more than 185 days and was the first Canadian ever to fly in a Soyuz spacecraft.

Finally Roman Romanenko was Commander of the Soyuz TMA-15 spaceship and on-board engineer in the International Space Station. The Russian astronaut embarked on 27 May 2009 together with Frank De Winne and Robert Thirsk.