Ongaro Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in Milano, Italy.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: Italian Space Agency Group - 1990. Inactive Entered space service: 1990. Left space service: 1993.

NAME: Franco Ongaro (Dr. Ing.)

PERSONAL DATA: Born January 18, 1958, in Milano, Italy. He now resides in Paris, France. Married with two children.

EDUCATION: 1978 -1986 Politecnico of Milano University. Aeronautical Dr. Ingegnere; 1972 -1977 Technical Institute High School Milano. Diploma in Electrical Engineering.; 1975 -1976 A.F.S. International Scholarship, Senior Year at Chisholm High School, MN, USA.

EXPERIENCE: At the European Space Agency (ESA) since 1987. First in Paris at the ESA Headquarters, then at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands from mid '88. From mid-1994 back in Paris to join the ESA Directorate of Strategy and Technical Assessment in the current position as Program manager of the ESA General Studies Program.

In 1991, Ing. Ongaro was selected by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) as one of the five Italian astronaut candidates for a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut selection.

1 May 1989 - Italian Space Agency Astronaut Training Group selected.. Italian astronauts trained for flights to the Mir space station.