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Nicollier, Claude

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Nicollier Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Inactive; Active 1978-2007. Born: 1944-09-02. Spaceflights: 4 . Total time in space: 42.50 days. Birth Place: Vevey.

Educated Lausanne; Geneva; ETPS.

NAME: Claude Nicollier

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Vevey, Switzerland, 2 September 1944.

EDUCATION: Claude Nicollier graduated from the Gymnase de Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1962. He received a bachelor of science ("Licence") in Physics from the University of Lausanne in 1970 and a master of science degree in Astrophysics from the University of Geneva in 1975. He also graduated as a Swiss Air Force pilot in 1966, as airline pilot in 1974, and as test pilot in 1988.

FAMILY: Married, two daughters.

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: Enjoys playing alphorn, snow skiing, mountain climbing, flying and photography.

ORGANISATIONS: Member of the Swiss Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the Swiss Airforce Officers Society. Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Honorary member of the Swiss Aero Club, and of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects.

EXPERIENCE: Nicollier worked as a graduate scientist with the Institute of Astronomy at Lausanne University and the Geneva Observatory between 1970 and 1973. Whilst still participating part-time in research activities, he also joined the Swiss Air Transport Scholl in Zurich and was assigned as DC-9 pilot for Swissair. At the end of 1976 he accepted a Fellowship at the European Space Agency's (ESA) Space Science Department at Noordwijk, The Netherlands, where he worked as a research scientist in various infrared astronomy programmes.

In 1978 he was selected by ESA as a member of the first group of European astronauts, after which he joined NASA astronaut candidates for training as a mission specialist. His technical assignments in the NASA Astronaut Office have included flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), participation in the development of retrieval techniques for the Tethered Satellite System (TSS), Remote Manipulator Systems (RMS) and International Space Station (ISS) support. During 1988 he attended the Empire Test Pilot School in Boscombe Down, England, from where he graduated as a test pilot in December. Nicollier holds a commission as captain in the Swiss Air Force and, during leave periods in Switzerland, flies Northtrop F-5E's and Hawker Hunters. He has logged 5,300 hours flying time, including 3,700 in jet aircraft. Nicollier is based at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, and has been detached to the NASA Astronauts office in Houston since July 1980. He was a mission specialist on the STS-46 flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (31 July to 8 August 1992), during which crew members deployed ESA's retrievable science platform (EURECA) and conducted the first Tethered Satellite System (TSS) test flight. Nicollier then flew as a mission specialist on STS-61 (2-13 December, 1993) during which the crew of Endeavour repaired and refurbished the Hubble Space Telescope, a joint ESA/NASA project. He was selected for his third flight as a mission specialist on STS-75 in January 1995. The 15-day mission, which started on 22 February 1996, featured the second deployment of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) which unexpectedly broke after reaching a distance of 19.5 kilometres from the Space Shuttle. Scientists were able to devise a programme of research making the most of the satellite's free flight while the astronauts' work centred on orbital investigations using the US Microgravity Payload (USPM-3). The flight ended on 9 March 1996.

Since July 1996, Nicollier (who has logged more than 792 hours in space) has lead the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station at NASA/JSC.

SPECIAL HONOURS: After the Hubble Space Telescope Recovery mission in 1993 Claude Nicollier received one of the most prestigious aeronautical awards in America, the Robert J. Collier Trophy, from the National Aeronautic Association. He also holds a Silver Medal from the Academie Nationale de l'Air et de l'Espace, France (1994), the prix de L'Universite de Lausanne (1994), and honorary doctorates from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) of Lausanne, and the Geneva University (both in 1994). He was appointed professor at the EFPL of Lausanne in November 1994. In 1998, he was awarded the Einstein Medal by the Einstein Society of Bern.

In August 1998, Claude Nicollier began training for his fourth spaceflight, the STS-104 mission scheduled for May 2000. During this third servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, Nicollier will carry out his first "spacewalks". He will install new instruments and upgrade systems to enhance the capabilities of the orbiting telescope.

July 1998.

• Birth of Claude Nicollier - . Nation: Switzerland. Related Persons: Nicollier. Swiss test pilot mission specialist astronaut 1978-2007. First Swiss astronaut. 4 spaceflights, 42.5 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-46 (1992), STS-61, STS-75, STS-103..

• STS-61-K (cancelled) - . Crew: Brand, Garriott, Griggs, Lampton, Lichtenberg, Nicollier, Stevenson, Stewart. Backup Crew: Chappell, Frimout. Payload: EOM-1/2. Nation: USA. Program: STS. Flight: STS-61-K. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Planned EOM-1 shuttle mission. Cancelled after Challenger disaster. No crew named, later combined with STS-61K.

• STS-46 - . Call Sign: Atlantis. Crew: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Hoffman, Ivins, Malerba, Nicollier, Shriver. Payload: Atlantis F12 / Eureca 1 / TSS 1. Mass: 12,965 kg (28,582 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Hoffman, Ivins, Malerba, Nicollier, Shriver. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-46. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Atlantis. Duration: 7.97 days. Decay Date: 1992-08-08 . USAF Sat Cat: 22064 . COSPAR: 1992-049A. Apogee: 437 km (271 mi). Perigee: 425 km (264 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 93.20 min.

  Manned seven crew. Deployed Eureca-1; failed to deploy Italian tether probe TSS-1. Payloads: Tethered Satellite System (TSS)-1; European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA)-1L; Evaluation of Oxygen Integration with Materials (EOlM)-lll/ Thermal Energy Management Processes (TEMP)-2A; Consortium for Materials Development In Space Complex Autonomous Payloads (CONCAP)-ll and Ill; IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC); Limited Duration Space Environment Candidate Materials Exposure (LDCE); Pituitary Growth Hormone Cell Function (PHCF); Ultravio-let Plume Instrument (UVPl).

• Landing of STS-46 - . Return Crew: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Hoffman, Ivins, Malerba, Nicollier, Shriver. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Hoffman, Ivins, Malerba, Nicollier, Shriver. Program: STS. Flight: STS-46. STS-46 landed at 13:13 GMT. .

• STS-61 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Akers, Bowersox, Covey, Hoffman, Musgrave, Nicollier, Thornton. Payload: Endeavour F05 / FSS. Mass: 8,011 kg (17,661 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Akers, Bowersox, Covey, Hoffman, Musgrave, Nicollier, Thornton. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-61. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 10.83 days. Decay Date: 1993-12-13 . USAF Sat Cat: 22917 . COSPAR: 1993-075A. Apogee: 576 km (357 mi). Perigee: 291 km (180 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 93.30 min.

  Manned seven crew. Hubble repair mission. Conducted the most EVAs (5) on a Space Shuttle Flight to that date. Payloads: Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Mission (SM) 1, IMAX Camera, IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS).

• Landing of STS-61 - . Return Crew: Akers, Bowersox, Covey, Hoffman, Musgrave, Nicollier, Thornton. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Akers, Bowersox, Covey, Hoffman, Musgrave, Nicollier, Thornton. Flight: STS-61. STS-61 landed at 05:25 GMT. .

• STS-75 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Cheli, Guidoni, Hoffman, Horowitz, Nicollier. Payload: Columbia F19 / USMP-3 Aft. Mass: 10,592 kg (23,351 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Cheli, Guidoni, Hoffman, Horowitz, Nicollier. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-75. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 15.74 days. Decay Date: 1996-03-09 . USAF Sat Cat: 23801 . COSPAR: 1996-012A. Apogee: 320 km (190 mi). Perigee: 277 km (172 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 90.50 min.

  Carried TSS-1R tether satellite; satellite tether broke during deployment, making TSS-1R an unintentional free flyer

  Payloads: Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Reflight (1R); Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE) (part of United States Microgravity Payload 3); USMP-3; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) 09, Block IV; Middeck Glovebox Experiment (MGBX) (part of USMP-3). During the deployment of TSS, the tether broke and the satellite was lost.

• Landing of STS-75 - . Return Crew: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Cheli, Guidoni, Hoffman, Horowitz, Nicollier. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Allen, Andy, Chang-Diaz, Cheli, Guidoni, Hoffman, Horowitz, Nicollier. Program: STS. Flight: STS-75. STS-75 landed at 13:58 GMT. .

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. In the final launch attempt available this year, Discovery and its seven astronauts blasted off tonight on the last human space flight of the 20th century to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103.

  Trailing the Hubble Space Telescope by about 3,700 nautical miles and closing, the seven Discovery astronauts were awakened at 9:50 a.m. CST today to the sounds of Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Taking Care of Business." The wake-up call from Mission Control began the crew's first full day in orbit. Discovery is closing on the telescope at a rate of about 340 nautical miles with each hour and a half long orbit of Earth. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Payload: Discovery F27. Mass: 116,884 kg (257,685 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: North American. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-103. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 7.97 days. Decay Date: 1999-12-28 . USAF Sat Cat: 25996 . COSPAR: 1999-069A. Apogee: 609 km (378 mi). Perigee: 563 km (349 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 96.40 min.

  Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission SM-3A, delayed repeatedly by technical problems with the shuttle fleet after the near-disastrous previous launch. Finally launched after the last possible day to avoid Y2K computer problems; one spacewalk was cancelled so that the shuttle could return by December 28. Hubble was in a 591 km x 610 km x 28.5 deg orbit at launch. After separation of the external tank ET-101 the Orbiter was in a 56 km x 587 km x 28.5 deg transfer orbit. The OMS 2 burn at 0134 UTC raised the orbit to 313 km x 582 km. The payload bay contained:

  • Bay 1-2: External airlock/ODS
  • Bay 7-8: ORU Carrier (Spacelab pallet). Carried Hubble replacement spares arranged as follows: COPE protective enclosure with three RSU gyros, a new solid state recorder, and an S-band transmitter; LOPE enclosure with an HST-486 computer and voltage improvement kit; ASIPE enclosure with a spare HST-486 and spare RSU; FSIPE enclosure with a replacement FGS-2 fine guidance sensor; and NPE enclosure with New Outer Blanket Layer insulation.
  • Bay 11: Flight Servicing System (FSS). Contained the BAPS (Berthing and Positioning System) used to dock with the aft end of the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • Bay 8: APC carrier with foot restraint
  • Bay 12: APC carrier with HST foot retstraint

  Hubble was grabbed by the shuttle's robot arm at 0034 UTC on December 22. Following completion of repairs HST was released on December 25 at 2303 UTC. The deorbit burn at 2248 UTC on Dec 27 placed the orbiter in a 50 km x 616 km descent orbit. Discovery landed on runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center at 0001 UTC on December 28.

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #06 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. With the Hubble Space Telescope securely latched in the payload bay, the astronauts board Discovery today will turn their attention to the primary objective of their flight -- restoring the capability of the 12.5-ton telescope to observe the universe.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103.

  Discovery astronauts completed the two highest priority tasks of their Hubble Space Telescope servicing Wednesday with a space walk that was the second longest in history. Astronauts Steve Smith and John Grunsfeld installed six new gyroscopes and six Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kits in the telescope during their 8 hour, 15 minute spacewalk. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103.

  The Hubble Space Telescope received a new advanced computer Thursday from space-walking Discovery astronauts Mike Foale and Claude Nicollier. Their 8-hour, 10-minute space walk, the third longest in history, also saw replacement of a 550-pound fine guidance sensor. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. Discovery's seven-member crew began work early today, preparing for a busy day on orbit, including a second spacewalk and a final check of hardware installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during yesterday's spacewalk.. Additional Details: here....

• EVA STS-103-2 - . Crew: Foale, Nicollier. EVA Duration: 0.34 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Foale, Nicollier. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-103. Spacecraft: Discovery, HST. Installed in the Hubble space telescope a new 486/25 mhz computer and replaced Fine Guidance Sensor FGS-2..

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. Christmas Day onboard the Shuttle Discovery began with seasons greetings for Commander Curt Brown, as the crew awoke to Bing Crosby's "I'll Be Home for Christmas.". Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. Discovery's astronauts delivered a Christmas present to the world today, putting the Hubble Space Telescope back in service after 24 hours and 33 minutes of repairs and upgrades that make the orbital observatory more capable than ever.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-103 Mission Status Report #17 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Ross, Smith, Steven. Program: STS. Flight: STS-103. The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up their eight-day mission to refurbish and repair the Hubble Space Telescope.. Additional Details: here....

• Landing of STS-103 - . Return Crew: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Clervoy, Foale, Grunsfeld, Kelly, Scott, Nicollier, Smith, Steven. Flight: STS-103. STS-103 landed at 00:01 GMT. .