European Astronaut Corps

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The European Astronaut Corps is the group of astronauts of ESA who are currently considered as active. There are currently twelve in number, all men. The European astronauts are based in the European Astronauts Center in Cologne, Germany. But, in practice, they are in various assignments both in Europe (at ESTEC, for instance) or elsewhere in the world, at NASA Johnson Space Center or Star City.

[edit] List of current members

There are twelve astronauts in the corps.

• Jean-François Clervoy (F)
• Frank De Winne (B)
• Pedro Duque (E)
• Reinhold Ewald (D)
• Léopold Eyharts (F)
• Christer Fuglesang (S)
• André Kuipers (NL)
• Paolo A. Nespoli (I)
• Claude Nicollier (CH)
• Thomas Reiter (D)
• Hans Schlegel (D)
• Roberto Vittori (I)

Only two members of the corps, Fuglesang and Nespoli, have not flown in space yet. They have both already been assigned a Shuttle mission and should both fly before the end of 2007.

Thomas Reiter is currently in space on board the ISS. His back-up was Léopold Eyharts, who should therefore fly soon as well as an ISS expedition crew. Reiter is the member of the corps who has spent the most time in space.

The youngest member of the corps is Roberto Vittori, born in 1964, while the oldest is Claude Nicollier, born in 1944. The corps includes no woman, being an all white males group. Only two women have been members of the corps. Marianne Merchez never flew, and Claudie Haigneré resigned to try a political career in France. The only anecdotical inclusion of minorities is that Léopold Eyharts belongs to the Basque ethnic group in France.

[edit] Future

According to French weekly Air & Cosmos, only seven astronauts (Reiter, Fuglesang, Schlegel, Nespoli, Eyharts, De Winne and Kuipers) remain available for immediate flight. The others are on temporary leave or assigned to other duties. Four more astronauts should therefore be recruited, according to the Head of human spaceflight at ESA, after the launch of Columbus, in October 2007.

The funding by NASA of the International Space Station is scheduled to end in FY2015. The role and activities of European astronauts beyond this date, and in particular their involvement in the Vision for Space Exploration, is unclear.

[edit] Former members

ESA astronauts front row left to right: Pedro Duque (E), Gerhard Thiele (D), Jean-Francois Clervoy (F), Umberto Guidoni (I), Léopold Eyharts (F), Reinhold Ewald (D), Roberto Vittori (I), Claude Nicollier (CH). Back row left to right: Paolo Nespoli (I), Thomas Reiter (D), Christer Fuglesang (S), Frank De Winne (B), Michel Tognini (F), Hans Schlegel (D), Philippe Perrin (F), André Kuipers (NL).

Former members of the European Astronaut Corps include Ulf Merbold, Wubbo Ockels, Marianne Merchez, Maurizio Cheli, Claudie Haigneré, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Umberto Guidoni, Michel Tognini, Gerhard Thiele and Philippe Perrin who have retired.

Ulf Merbold was the first ESA astronaut, who flew on board STS-9 in 1983.

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[edit] Shuttle missions

Astronauts from the European Astronaut Corps have participated to various missions before the ISS era, in particular in the frame of Spacelab, as Payload Specialists.

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[edit] As Payload Specialists

• Merbold (D) - STS-9 / Spacelab
• Ockels (NL) - STS-61-A / Spacelab
• Merbold (D) - STS-42 / Spacelab

[edit] As Mission Specialists

• Nicollier (CH) - STS-46, STS-61, STS-75, STS-103
• Cheli (I) - STS-75
• Clervoy (F) - STS-66, STS-84, STS-103
• Thiele (D) - STS-99
• Duque (E) - STS-95

[edit] Mir visits

Astronauts from the European astronaut Corps have also flown to Mir both on board Soyuz vehicles or on board the Space Shuttle.

• Ulf Merbold - Euromir 94 - Soyuz TM-20 - 03.10. - 04.11.1994
• Thomas Reiter - Euromir 95 - Soyuz TM-22 - 03.09.1995 - 29.02.1996
• Jean-François Clervoy - STS-84

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[edit] ISS visits

ESA astronauts to have visited the ISS are:

• Guidoni(I), ESA, 9th ISS flight (6A) Raffaello MPLM, STS-100/ISS, 2001-04-19 – 2001-05-01
• Haigneré (F), CNES Andromède, Soyuz/ISS, 2001-10-21 – 2001-10-31
• Vittori (I), ASI Marco Polo, Soyuz/ISS, 2002-04-25 – 2002-05-05
• Perrin (F), NASA/CNES, ISS assembly flight UF-2, STS-111/ISS, 2002-06-05 – 2002-06-19 (Remark: was a CNES, not an ESA astronaut at the time of his mission)
• De Winne (B), ESA, Odissea, Soyuz/ISS, 2002-10-30 – 2002-11-10
• Duque (E), ESA, Cervantes, Soyuz/ISS, 2003-10-18 – 2003-10-28
• Kuipers (NL), ESA, DELTA Mission, 8S/ISS, 2004-04-19 – 2004-04-30
• Vittori (I), ASI Eneide, Soyuz/ISS, 2005-04-15 – 2005-04-25
• Reiter (D), ESA Astrolab, ISS assembly flight ULF 1.1, STS-121/ISS, 2006-07-06

[edit] Upcoming missions (2006-2007)

• STS-116 - Christer Fuglesang
• STS-120 - Paolo Nespoli
• STS-122 - Hans Schlegel
• STS-122 - Expedition 16 - Léopold Eyharts