Reinhold Ewald

Infobox Astronaut


name =Reinhold Ewald
type =DFVLR/ESA Astronaut
nationality =German
date_birth =December 18, 1956
place_birth =Mönchengladbach, Germany
occupation =Physicist
selection =1990 German Group
time =19d 16h 34m
mission =Soyuz TM-25, Soyuz TM-24
insignia =|

Reinhold Ewald (born December 18 1956) is a German physicist and ESA astronaut.

Born in Mönchengladbach, Germany, he received diploma in experimental physics from the University of Cologne in 1983 and the Ph.D. in 1986, with a minor degree in human physiology.

In 1990, he was selected to the German astronaut team, training for the Mir '92 mission. He was the backup of Klaus-Dietrich Flade for the Soyuz TM-14 mission. In 1995 he began training for the second German Mir mission. In February 1997 he flew to the space station Mir with Soyuz TM-25, spending 18 days in space. He performed experiments in biomedical and material sciences, and carried out operational tests in preparation for the International Space Station.

In February 1999, he joined the European Astronaut Corps at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.

As of 2007, Ewald is heading the Flight Operations Division within ESA’s ISS Operations department at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich. In this role, he is directing a team of ESA Mission Directors managing the Columbus laboratory delivery flight in February 2008 and the Columbus science activities thereafter.

He is married and has three children. He enjoys reading and spending time with his family, and performs with an amateur theatre group. His main sports are soccer and he holds a black belt in karate.

External links

* [http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/ESAOHUZUMOC_astronauts_2.html Biography at ESA]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/ewald_reinhold.htm Spacefacts biography of Reinhold Ewald]