Thomas Reiter
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| Astronaut, Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | German |
| Born | May 23, 1958 Frankfurt, Germany |
| Occupation1 | Test pilot |
| Rank | Colonel, Luftwaffe |
| Space time | 350d 05h 44m |
| Selection | 1992 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | Soyuz TM-22, Euromir 95, STS-121, Expedition 13, Expedition 14, STS-116 |
| Mission insignia |      |
| 1 previous or current | |
Thomas Arthur Reiter (born May 23, 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany) is an astronaut with the European Space Agency and is a colonel (Oberst) in the Luftwaffe. As of 2006, he was one of the top 50 astronauts in terms of total time in space. He lives in Rastede (near Oldenburg) in Lower Saxony.
In 1982, Reiter received his diploma in astronautics at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in 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 [1]. Discovery departed 15 July, leaving Reiter behind with Expedition 13.
His mission has been designated "Astrolab" by the European Space Agency.
He returned to Earth aboard Discovery during the STS-116 mission.
Reiter has logged just over 350 days in space, the most by any non-American or non-Russian.
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