Thomas Reiter

Infobox Astronaut
name =Thomas Arthur Reiter


type =ESA Astronaut
status =Retired
nationality =German
date_birth =May 23, 1958
date_death =
place_birth =Frankfurt, Germany
place_death =
occupation =Test pilot
rank =Colonel, Luftwaffe
selection =1992 ESA Group
time =350d 05h 44m
mission =Soyuz TM-22, Euromir 95, STS-121, Expedition 13, Expedition 14, STS-116
insignia =

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Thomas Arthur Reiter (born May 23 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany) is a retired European astronaut and is a colonel ("Oberst") in the Luftwaffe. As of 2008, he was one of the top 25 astronauts in terms of total time in space. He lives in Wahnbek (near Oldenburg) in Lower Saxony.

In 1982, Reiter received his diploma in astronautics from the University of the German Federal Armed Forces, Munich. He completed his training as a pilot in Germany and Texas.

He served as an onboard engineer for the Euromir 95/Soyuz TM-22 mission to the Mir space station. During his 179 days aboard Mir, he carried out two EVAs and became the first German astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

Between 1996 and 1997, he underwent additional training on the Soyuz spacecraft and was awarded a "Soyuz Return Commander" certificate, qualifying him to command a three-person Soyuz crew during its return from space.

He trained for a six-month mission to the International Space Station and was launched on the Discovery STS-121 mission to join Expedition 13. The launch date was set for 1 July 2006, but was moved to 2 July, and finally launched on 4 July 2006 due to weather delays. [ [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/sts-121/launch-vlcc_070106.html NASA web site] ] Discovery departed 15 July, leaving Reiter behind with Expedition 13. He later became part of Expedition 14 before returning to Earth aboard Discovery during the STS-116 mission.

His ISS mission was designated "Astrolab" by the European Space Agency. [ [http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Astrolab/index.html Astrolab] ]

Reiter has logged just over 350 days in space, the most by any non-American or non-Russian.

On August 8, 2007 Thomas Reiter was named a member of DLR's executive board.

External links

* [http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/ESAYBVZUMOC_astronauts_0.html European Space Agency biography]
* [http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMN8F2IU7E_index_0.html ESA astronaut to carry out first European long-duration mission on the ISS]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/reiter_thomas.htm Spacefacts biography of Thomas Reiter]
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts121/index.html NASA STS-121 Mission]
* [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/reiter-t.html Official NASA Biography]
* [http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?b=b&type=V&single=y&start=7 Thomas Reiter Video from the ISS]

Notes