Ulf Merbold
German - (ESA)
Retired
Date of Birth: June 20, 1941
Age: 83
Dr. Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is the first West German citizen and second German native (after Sigmund Jähn) to have flown in space. He is also the first member of the European Space Agency Astronaut Corps to participate in a spaceflight mission and the first non-US citizen to reach orbit in a US spacecraft. In 1983, he and Byron Lichtenberg became the first Payload Specialists to fly on the shuttle.
Space Shuttle Columbia / OV-102 | STS-9
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Nov. 28, 1983, 4 p.m.
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-42
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 22, 1992, 2:52 p.m.
Soyuz-U2 | Soyuz TM-19
Soviet Space Program | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
July 1, 1994, 12:24 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
Soyuz TM-19 was the 19th mission and the 16th long-duration expedition to Mir space station. The mission began on July 1, 1994, 12:24:50 UTC, launching Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Talgat Musabayev into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts performed two EVAs, carried out various scientific experiments in medicine, material sciences, astrophysics etc. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, and welcomed aboard the Soyuz TM-20 crew. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on November 4, 1994, 11:18:26 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz-U2 | Soyuz TM-20
Soviet Space Program | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Oct. 3, 1994, 10:42 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
Soyuz TM-20 was the 20th mission and the 17th long-duration expedition to Mir space station. The mission began on October 3, 1994, 22:42:30 UTC, launching Commander Alexander Viktorenko, Flight Engineer Yelena Kondakova and Research Cosmonaut Ulf Merbold into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts performed two EVAs, carried out various scientific experiments. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, and welcomed aboard the Soyuz TM-21 crew. During this mission the first rendezvous maneuver of the Space Shuttle STS-63 with the Mir space station was performed. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on March 22, 1995, 04:04:05 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitThe European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 11-8
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 13-1
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USAA batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Ceres-1
5 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaCarried 5 satellites to sun synchronous orbit: * Yunyao-1 37 to 40 * Jitianxing A-05
Long March 2D
PRSC-EO1
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaOptical Earth observation satellite for SUPARCO of Pakistan. Hitchhiking payloads: * DAO-1 * Blue Carbon 1
Starship
Flight 7
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USASeventh test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.
