List of German astronauts

10 German astronauts together in a picture. From left to right: Gerhard Thiele (SRTM/STS-99), Reinhold Ewald (Mir'97), Klaus-Dietrich Flade (Mir'92), Ulrich Walter (D2), Hans Schlegel (D2, Columbus), Ernst Messerschmid (D1), Thomas Reiter (Euromir 95, Astrolab), Sigmund Jähn (Saljut 6), Ulf Merbold (STS-9, STS-42, Euromir 94) and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst

The following is a list of German astronauts who have traveled into space, sorted by date of first flight.

As of 2024, twelve Germans have been in space. The first German, and only East German, in space was Sigmund Jähn in 1978. Three astronauts – Ulf Merbold, Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid – represented West Germany during the time of divided Germany.

Merbold made two other spaceflights after Germany was reunified in 1990. He is the only German to have been in space three times. Thomas Reiter, Alexander Gerst, and Matthias Maurer are the only Germans to have made long-term spaceflights.

List

Image Name Mission Mission start Mission duration Space station Mission objectives
Sigmund Jähn Soyuz 31 / Soyuz 29 August 26, 1978 7 days Salyut 6 Scientific experiments in Salyut 6
Ulf Merbold STS-9 November 28, 1983 10 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module
STS-42 January 22, 1992 8 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module
Soyuz TM-20 / Soyuz TM-19 October 3, 1994 31 days Mir
Reinhard Furrer STS-61-A (D1) October 30, 1985 7 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module, deployment of the Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR)
Ernst Messerschmid STS-61-A (D1) October 30, 1985 7 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module, deployment of GLOMR
Klaus-Dietrich Flade Soyuz TM-14 / Soyuz TM-13 March 17, 1992 7 days Mir
Hans Schlegel STS-55 (D2) April 26, 1993 9 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module
STS-122 February 7, 2008 12 days ISS Installation of the Columbus Orbital Facility
Ulrich Walter STS-55 (D2) April 26, 1993 9 days Scientific experiments in the Spacelab Module
Thomas Reiter Soyuz TM-22 / Euromir 95 September 3, 1995 179 days Mir
STS-121 / Expedition 13 / Expedition 14 / STS-116 July 4, 2006 171 days ISS
Reinhold Ewald Soyuz TM-25 / Soyuz TM-24 February 10, 1997 19 days Mir
Gerhard Thiele STS-99 February 11, 2000 11 days   Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, positionig of several satellites
Alexander Gerst Soyuz TMA-13M / Expedition 40 / Expedition 41 May 28, 2014 165 days ISS
Soyuz MS-09 / Expedition 56 / Expedition 57 June 6, 2018 197 days ISS
Matthias Maurer SpaceX Crew-3 / Expedition 66 / Expedition 67 November 10, 2021 190 days ISS

See also