Ernst Messerschmid
German - (DLR)
Retired
Date of Birth: May 21, 1945
Age: 80
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 AmericaKennedy 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 OrbitThe 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.
Long March 7A
Yaogan 46
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of ChinaClassified Earth observation satellite officially reported as for "national resources/hydrology/meteorology surveying & disaster management" purposes.
LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
CMS-03 (GSAT-7R)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, IndiaCommunications Satellite for the Indian Navy, replacing GSAT-7 for secure real-time links between Indian warships, submarines, aircraft, and shore-ba…
Falcon 9
Bandwagon 4 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USADedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 11-23
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Long March 2
Shenzhou 21
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaTenth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.
