Dirk Frimout
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Born | March 21, 1941 Poperinge, Belgium |
| Occupation1 | Astrophysicist |
| Space time | 8d 22h 09m |
| Selection | 1985 |
| Mission(s) | STS-45 |
| Mission insignia |  |
| 1 previous or current | |
Dirk Dries David Damiaan Frimout (Ph.D.) (born March 21, 1941 in Poperinge, Belgium) is a Payload Specialist and was the first Belgian in space.
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[edit] Personal data
He is married with two children. Hobbies include running, bicycling, walking, traveling, and chess.
[edit] Education
Elementary School at Poperinge. Secondary School at Atheneum at Ghent, Belgium. Received degree of electrotechnical engineer at University of Ghent in 1963; a doctorate in applied physics from University of Ghent in 1970; post-doctorate at University of Colorado, Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics (ESRO fellow) in 1971-1972.
[edit] Organizations
- Associate member of the Belgian National Council for Space Research.
- Member of K VIV (Royal Association of Flemish Engineers).
- Association of Engineers from the University of Ghent.
[edit] Publications
More than 30 publications relating to Atmospheric Physics Experiments, Crew Training for Spacelab, and Microgravity Experiments.
[edit] Honors
- 1971-72 Postdoctoral Research Fellow from ESRO (European Space Research Organization).
- After his spaceflight, Frimout was ennobled and given the title of viscount.
[edit] Experience
- 1965-1978 Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy. As Head of Section Instrumentation, performed experiments with stratospheric balloons and sounding rockets.
- 1978-1984 European Space Agency (ESA) as Crew Activities Coordinator and Experiment Coordinator for Spacelab-1.
- 1984-1989 Microgracity Division of ESTEC, responsible for sounding rocket program, parabolic flights, experiments on EURECA, reflight of Spacelab-1 experiments.
Currently, Dr. Frimout is an ESA staff member. He is a senior engineer in the Payload Utilization Department of the Columbus Directorate, responsible for the ESA support to the European experiments on ATLAS-1, and the Microgravity Measurement Assembly to be flown on D2.
[edit] Space flight experience
Dr. Frimout flew as a payload specialist on STS-45 Atlantis (March 24 to April 2, 1992). STS-45 was launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It was the first Spacelab mission dedicated to NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. During the nine-day flight, the crew aboard Atlantis operated the twelve experiments that constituted the ATLAS-1 (Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science) cargo. ATLAS-1 obtained a vast array of detailed measurements of atmospheric chemical and physical properties, which contributed significantly to improving our understanding of our climate and atmosphere. In addition, this was the first time an artificial beam of electrons was used to stimulate a man-made auroral discharge. At mission conclusion, Dr. Frimout had traveled 3.2 million miles in 143 Earth orbits and logged over 214 hours in space.
[edit] Source
- NASA Biography [1]
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