Ulf Merbold
German - (ESA)
Retired
Date of Birth: June 20, 1941
Age: 85
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 17-51
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Starship
Flight 13
Orbital Launch Pad 2 - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3. For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink sa…
Kinetica 1
5 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaShare-ride of 5 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, including SpaceTY's TY-48. Details TBD.
Long March 3B/E
Tianlian 2-06
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaTianlian is a Chinese data tracking and relay communications geostationary satellite series. The TL 2 (Tian Lian 2) satellites represent the second g…
Gravity-1
9 satellites
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental SpaceportCarried 9 satellites on a share-ride to sun-synchronous orbit. Details TBD.
