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Ernst Messerschmid

German - (DLR)

Retired

Date of Birth: May 21, 1945
Age: 79


Ernst Willi Messerschmid (born May 21, 1945) is a German physicist and former astronaut. From 1978 to 1982, he worked at the DFVLR (the precursor of the DLR) in the Institute of Communications Technology in Oberpfaffenhofen on space-borne communications. In 1983, he was selected as one of the astronauts for the first German Spacelab mission D-1. He flew as payload specialist on STS-61-A in 1985, spending over 168 hours in space.

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-61-A

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Oct. 30, 1985, 5 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-61-A was the twenty-second space shuttle flight and ninth for Space Shuttle Challenger. It was a scientific spacelab mission funded entirely by West Germany. The payload operations were controlled from the German Space Operations Center as opposed to the regular NASA centers.

Low Earth Orbit
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Administrator: Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla

The German Aerospace Center is Germany's Center for aerospace, energy, and transportation research. Their main work is as a contributor to the ESA. They have done work both in tandem with the US on Space Shuttle and the ISS, and also with other European Nations on missions like Space Lab and Mars Express.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 14 hours ago
Thuraya 4-NGS
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Thuraya 4-NGS is a communication satellite being built by Airbus Defense and Space for the UAE based Yahsat. Based on the all-electric Airbus Eurosta…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 10 hours ago
Starlink Group 12-6
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


PSLV
Success
5 days, 23 hours ago
SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) is an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) technology mission to demonstrate autonomous docking between 2 spac…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Astranis: From One to Many (4x Astranis MicroGEO)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Four Astranis MicroGEO communications satellite to be inserted in a custom geostationary orbit, from where they conduct on-orbit maneuvers to reach t…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 11-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.