Soyuz TM-22 crew (L-R): Yuri Gidzenko, Thomas Reiter, Sergei Avdeyev
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-22, launched September 3, 1995, carried three cosmonauts to the space station Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Avdeyev and Thomas Reiter (ESA). They docked with Mir on September 5 and returned to Earth February 29, 1996.
STS-121 crew (L-R): Stephanie Wilson, Michael Fossum, Steven Lindsey, Piers Sellers, Mark Kelly, Thomas Reiter, Lisa Nowak.
Mission patch
Space shuttle Discovery (STS-121), launched July 4, 2006, carried equipment and supplies to the International Space Station as well as a German astronaut from the European Space Agency. Its crew consisted of Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Mark Kelly, Michael Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter (ESA).
Part of the mission was to test new safety and repair techniques put in place by NASA following the Columbia disaster. Three EVAs were conducted during the mission by Mike Fossum, Mark Kelly and Piers Sellers.
German astronaut Thomas Reiter, born May 23, 1958 in Frankfurt, West Germany, went into space for the European Space Agency. He has spent over 350 days in space, more than any non-American or non-Russian. He is also the first German to perform an EVA.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-22 to the space station Mir. He was part of expedition Mir EO-20 from September 1995 to February 1996. During this time he conducted two EVAs, becoming the first German to perform a space walk.
His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-121) to the International Space Station as a mission specialist in July 2006, when he became part of Expedition 13. He remained on board the ISS to become a member of Expedition 14. He was replaced by Sunita Williams in December, aboard Discovery (STS-116).
