Ulf Merbold
Ulf Dietrich Merbold is a German physicist, ESA astronaut, and three-time space traveler. Selected in ESA's first astronaut group in 1978, he became the first West German citizen in space and the first non-American to fly aboard a NASA spacecraft.
- Born
- June 20, 1941
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Greiz, Thuringia,Germany
Flights
3
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
49 days
Bio
Merbold trained as a physicist before joining ESA's astronaut program. His first mission was STS-9 in 1983, the first Spacelab flight, where he worked as a aboard Columbia during a major international science mission.
He returned to the shuttle on STS-42 in 1992, the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission. There he again focused on life-science and materials-science experiments, extending his role as one of Europe's leading microgravity research astronauts.
Merbold's third spaceflight was Euromir 94. He launched on Soyuz TM-20, worked aboard the Mir , and returned on Soyuz TM-19, giving him experience on both United States shuttle and Russian station systems.
After flight service, Merbold supported ESA mission operations, Columbus program planning, and European astronaut office work. His career helped establish Europe as a lasting participant in crewed spaceflight.