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Klod NikolierAstronaut
Date of Birth: 02.09.1944
Country:  Switzerland |
Content:
Biography of Claude Nicollier
Early Life and EducationClaude Nicollier, a Swiss physicist, pilot, and astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA), was born on September 2, 1944, in Vevey, Switzerland. He attended high school in Lausanne, Switzerland, graduating in 1962. Nicollier then pursued his studies at the University of Lausanne, earning a bachelor's degree in physics in 1970. He furthered his education at the University of Geneva, obtaining a master's degree in astrophysics in 1975. In 1988, Nicollier attended the Boscombe Down School of Test Pilots in the United Kingdom to become a qualified test pilot.
Career
From 1970 to 1973, Nicollier worked as a research specialist at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Lausanne and the Geneva Observatory. In 1976, he joined the European Space Agency (ESA) and became an active astronaut. Throughout his career, Nicollier accumulated a total of 5400 flight hours on various types of aircraft, including 3800 hours on jet aircraft.
Space Activities
In July 1978, Nicollier was selected as part of the first group of astronauts for the ESA. In May 1980, he was also chosen to join the NASA astronaut corps through an agreement between NASA and ESA. Nicollier embarked on four spaceflights during his career.
His first flight took place from July 31 to August 8, 1992, as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Atlantis for the STS-46 program. The mission lasted 7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 3 seconds. The primary objective was to deploy the European scientific laboratory EURECA and conduct experiments with the tethered satellite system (TSS).
Nicollier's second flight occurred from December 2 to December 13, 1993, as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-61 program. The mission lasted 10 days, 19 hours, 58 minutes, and 37 seconds. The main focus of the mission was the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.
From February 22 to March 9, 1996, Nicollier participated in his third flight as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Columbia for the STS-75 program. The mission lasted 15 days, 17 hours, 40 minutes, and 21 seconds, with the main objective being microgravity research and experiments.
His fourth and final flight took place from December 20 to December 28, 1999, as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery for the STS-103 program. The mission lasted 7 days, 23 hours, 10 minutes, and 47 seconds. The primary goal of the mission was to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Nicollier also conducted a spacewalk during this mission, which lasted 8 hours and 10 minutes. In total, Nicollier accumulated 42 days, 14 hours, 4 minutes, and 48 seconds in space over his four missions.
Awards and Interests
Throughout his career, Claude Nicollier received several awards, including the NASA Space Flight Medals for his missions in 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1999. In 1994, he was honored with the FAI Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal. Nicollier is married to Susana PEREZ from Monterrey, Mexico, and they have two daughters named Maya and Marina. In his free time, Nicollier enjoys flying planes, mountain tourism, photography, and music.
