Thomas Reiter

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This article documents a person who is currently in space.
Information may change rapidly as the mission progresses.

Image:Astronaut-EVA.jpg

**Thomas Arthur Reiter**
Astronaut, Cosmonaut
Image:Thomas Reiter STS-121.jpg
Nationality	German
Born	May 23, 1958 Frankfurt, Germany
Occupation¹	Test pilot
Rank	Colonel, Luftwaffe
Space time	Currently in orbit
Selection	1992 NASA Group
Mission(s)	Soyuz TM-22, STS-121, Expedition 13, Expedition 14
Mission insignia	Image:Sts121 crewpatch.jpg Image:ISS expedition 13 patch with reiter.png Image:ISS Expedition 14 patch.png
¹ previous or current

Thomas Arthur Reiter (born May 23 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany) is an astronaut with the European Space Agency and is a colonel (Oberst) in the Luftwaffe. As of 2006, he was one of the top 50 astronauts in terms of total time in space.

In 1982, Reiter received his diploma in astronautics. He completed his training as a pilot in Germany and Texas.

He served as an onboard engineer for the Euromir 95 (Soyuz TM-22) mission to the Mir space station. During his 179 days aboard Mir, he carried out two EVAs and became the first German astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

Between 1996 and 1997, he underwent additional training on the Soyuz spacecraft and was awarded a "Soyuz Return Commander" certificate, qualifying him to command a three-person Soyuz crew during its return from space.

He trained for a six-month mission to the International Space Station and has been launched on the Discovery STS-121 mission to join Expedition 13. The launch date was set for 1 July 2006, but was moved to 2 July, and finally launched on 4 July 2006 due to weather delays [1]. Discovery departed 15 July, leaving Reiter behind with Expedition 13.

His mission has been designated "Astrolab" by the European Space Agency.