Ernst Messerschmid
German physicist and astronaut on STS-61-A Spacelab mission.
Ernst Willi Messerschmid, a German physicist and former astronaut, was born in Reutlingen on 21 May 1945. After completing his secondary education at Stuttgart’s Technisches Gymnasium in 1965 and serving two years in the military, he studied physics at the Universities of Tübingen and Bonn, earning a Diplom in 1972 and a doctorate in 1976. During his studies, from 1970 to 1975, he worked as a visiting scientist at CERN in Geneva, focusing on proton beams in accelerators and plasmas. He then spent 1975 to 1976 at the University of Freiburg and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, followed by a position at DESY in Hamburg in 1977, where he worked on the beam optics of the PETRA storage ring. From 1978 to 1982, he was at the DFVLR (the predecessor of the DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen, working on space-borne communications at the Institute of Communications Technology. In 1983, he was chosen as an astronaut for Germany’s first Spacelab mission, D-1, and flew as a payload specialist on STS-61-A in 1985, logging over 168 hours in space. Following his flight, he became a professor at the Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme at the University of Stuttgart. He later served as head of the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne from 2000 to 2004, returning to the University of Stuttgart in January 2005 to teach astronautics and space stations.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Ernst Willi Messerschmid
- Birth Date
- 1945-05-21
- Birth Place
- Reutlingen, Allied-occupied Germany
- Occupation
- Physicist
- Selection
- 1982 German Group
- Time
- 7d 00h 44m
- Mission
- STS-61-A
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Ernst Messerschmid was born in Reutlingen, Germany, on May 21, 1945. He completed the Technisches Gymnasium in Stuttgart in 1965, served two years in the military, then studied physics at the University of Tübingen and Bonn, earning a Diplom degree in 1972 and a doctorate in 1976. During his studies, from 1970 to 1975, he worked as a visiting scientist at CERN in Geneva on proton beams in accelerators and plasmas. After his doctorate, he worked at the University of Freiburg and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York from 1975 to 1976, then joined DESY in Hamburg in 1977 to work on beam optics of the PETRA storage ring. From 1978 to 1982, he worked at the DFVLR (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, and flew as a payload specialist on STS-61-A in 1985.
Reader's Guide
After his spaceflight, Messerschmid became a professor at the Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme at the University of Stuttgart. From 2000 to 2004, he served as head of the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne. In January 2005, he returned to the University of Stuttgart to teach subjects on Astronautics and Space Stations. His career spans fundamental physics research at major laboratories, space communications engineering, and astronaut training and flight, followed by leadership in European astronaut operations and academic instruction in space systems. His flight on STS-61-A contributed to the German Spacelab D-1 mission, marking a significant step in Germany's human spaceflight program.
Did You Know?
- Ernst Messerschmid was a visiting scientist at CERN from 1970 to 1975.
- He worked on beam optics of the PETRA storage ring at DESY in 1977.
- He was head of the European Astronaut Centre from 2000 to 2004.
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