Col. Walter Villadei - Astronaut 008

Qualified on Soyuz, ISS systems, and Orlan for EVA activities. In 2021, Col. Villadei started his professional astronaut training at NASA through Axiom Space and in 2022 qualified as the Ax-2 mission backup pilot. He performed multiple extreme analog training activities including centrifuge, parabolic flight, NOLS, survival training, flight training and scuba diving. Col. Villadei was the ‘Virtute 1’ mission commander. He tended to the rack-mounted payloads and wore a state-of-the-art smart suit to measure his biometric data and physiological responses. He was in charge of the research execution and the spaceflight will use part of his astronaut training for a "future orbital space mission" to the ISS.