ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, from Belgium, and the crew of the STS-122 space shuttle mission practice driving an emergency evacuation vehicle near the launch pad area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in November 2007, in preparation for the STS-122 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2005, Frank De Winne started preparing as backup for ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts for the ISS expedition mission delivering the European Columbus laboratory.