Klaus-Dietrich Flade
Encyclopedia
Klaus-Dietrich Flade is a German
pilot and former German Aerospace Center
astronaut
who visited the Mir
space station in 1992 aboard the Soyuz TM-14
mission, returning to Earth a week later aboard Soyuz TM-13
.
, Germany, he joined the German Air Force
after school. Educated initially as an airplane engineer, he studied aerospace engineering at Bundeswehr University Munich from 1976 to 1980. Afterwards he became a pilot. He trained as a test pilot from 1988 to 1989. In October 1990, he was selected as part of the German astronaut team
for the Euromir '92 flight.
After two years of training, he flew as a Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-14
in March 1992. After his spaceflight, he returned to the German Air Force. He is now test pilot at Airbus Industrie.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pilot and former German Aerospace Center
German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
who visited the Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space station in 1992 aboard the Soyuz TM-14
Soyuz TM-14
-Mission highlights:14th expedition to Mir. Included astronaut from Germany.The First Russian Soyuz mission after the collapse of the Soviet Union....
mission, returning to Earth a week later aboard Soyuz TM-13
Soyuz TM-13
-Mission highlights:13th expedition to Mir. Included astronaut from Austria and cosmonaut from soon to be independent Kazakhstan.Soyuz-TM 13 carried Austrian cosmonaut-researcher Franz Viehböck and still Soviet-Kazakh cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. The flight was unusual for carrying no...
.
Biography
Born in BüdesheimBüdesheim
Büdesheim is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
, Germany, he joined the German Air Force
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
after school. Educated initially as an airplane engineer, he studied aerospace engineering at Bundeswehr University Munich from 1976 to 1980. Afterwards he became a pilot. He trained as a test pilot from 1988 to 1989. In October 1990, he was selected as part of the German astronaut team
German astronaut team
The German astronaut team was established in 1987, until it became part of the European Astronaut Corps in 1998. Before the establishment of the team German astronauts were selected for single missions, or as part of the ESA manned spaceflight activities....
for the Euromir '92 flight.
After two years of training, he flew as a Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-14
Soyuz TM-14
-Mission highlights:14th expedition to Mir. Included astronaut from Germany.The First Russian Soyuz mission after the collapse of the Soviet Union....
in March 1992. After his spaceflight, he returned to the German Air Force. He is now test pilot at Airbus Industrie.