Belgian astronaut (born 1961)
Frank, Viscount De Winne
(born 25 April 1961, in
Ledeberg
, Belgium) is a
Belgian Air Component
officer and an
ESA
astronaut
. He is Belgium's second person in space (after
Dirk Frimout
). He was the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission when he served as commander of ISS
Expedition 21
.
ESA
astronaut
de Winne serves currently as Head of the European Astronaut Centre of the
European Space Agency
in Cologne/Germany (Koln).
Education
[
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]
De Winne graduated in 1979 from the
Royal School of Cadets
in
Lier
. In 1984, he graduated from the
Royal Military Academy
with the degree of Master of Sciences in Engineering (Polytechnics).
[2]
Military career
[
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]
De Winne followed the elementary flying school of the
Belgian Air Component
at
Goetsenhoven
. After graduating he flew
Dassault Mirage 5
airplanes for the Air Force until he was attached to
SAGEM
in
Paris
to work on the safety of the Mirage. In 1991, De Winne completed the Staff Course at the Defence College in
Brussels
with the highest distinction. In 1992, De Winne received his degree as
test pilot
from the British
Empire Test Pilots' School
in
Boscombe Down
, receiving the
McKenna Trophy
as well.
[2]
From December 1992, Major of Royal Belgian Air Component De Winne operated as a test pilot for the Belgian Air Force. From January 1994 until April 1995, he was responsible for flight safety of the
1st Fighter Wing
operating from
Beauvechain air base
. From April 1995 to July 1996, he was attached as senior test pilot to the European Participating Air Forces at
Edwards Air Force Base
in
California
where he worked on the mid-life update of the F-16 aircraft, focusing on radar testing. From 1996 to August 1998, he was senior test pilot in the Belgian Air Force, responsible for all test programmes and for all pilot-vehicle interfaces for future aircraft/software updates.
[2]
On 12 February 1997 De Winne encountered engine problems while flying in an
F-16 Fighting Falcon
over densely populated area near
Leeuwarden
. After the onboard computer failed, De Winne was faced with the choice of crashing in the
IJsselmeer
or of
ejecting
over densely populated area. However, De Winne was able to land his crippled plane at
Leeuwarden air base
, a feat which earned him the
Joe Bill Dryden Semper Viper Award
, the first non-American ever to get this award.
[3]
In August 1998, De Winne became commander of the
349 Squadron
operating from
Kleine Brogel
. During the
NATO
Operation Allied Force
in the
Balkans
, De Winne commanded the Dutch-Belgian
Deployable Air Task Force
.
[2]
He completed 17 combat sorties. For his achievement during this operation, the Dutch government awarded him the degree of Officer of the
Order of Orange-Nassau
.
[4]
De Winne has collected over 2.300 flying hours in Mirage, F-16,
Tornado
and
Jaguar
. He also serves as the Chairman of the Belgian Armed Forces Flying Personnel Association.
He currently holds the rank of
Brigadier-General
.
Astronaut career
[
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]
In October 1998, Frank De Winne was selected as an astronaut candidate by the
European Space Agency
. In January 2000, he joined the European Astronaut Corps, whose homebase is the
European Astronaut Centre
in
Cologne
, Germany. He provided technical support for the X38 Crew Return Vehicle project division within the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity, located at the
European Space Research and Technology Centre
in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
[2]
In August 2001, De Winne took up training at the
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center
near
Moscow, Russia
. Training included elements of Basic Training for the International Space Station as well as training as a Soyuz flight engineer.
[4]
De Winne's first spaceflight (30 October - 10 November 2002) was a trip as a flight engineer to the
International Space Station
in 2002, traveling to the station aboard
Soyuz TMA-1
and returning aboard
Soyuz TM-34
. During his time in space, De Winne carried out successfully a programme of 23 experiments in the fields of life and physical sciences and education.
He was the back-up crew member for
Leopold Eyharts
of ISS
Expedition 16
.
On 20 September 2007 ESA announced that De Winne would take part in a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station in 2009.
[5]
[6]
On 21 November 2008, NASA announced changes to the Expedition schedule, with De Winne becoming Commander of
Expedition 21
.
[7]
On 27 May 2009 De Winne launched aboard
Soyuz TMA-15
, becoming the first astronaut from the European Space Agency to command a space mission.
[7]
Honors, awards and arms
[
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]
Coat of arms of Frank De Winne
|
- Description
- De sable a un tourteau d'azur borde d'argent mouvant de la pointe et du flanc senestre, accompagne au chef dextre de huit etoiles d'argent ordonnees en Northrop B-2 Spirit pose en bande, a une capusle Soyouz d'or posee en bande brochante en abime
|
Personal
[
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]
De Winne is married to
Lena Clarke De Winne
. He has three children from a previous marriage. He enjoys football, small PC applications and gastronomy.
[8]
De Winne appeared on screen during the concerts of rock band
U2
on their
360° Tour
(and on their
U2360° at the Rose Bowl
concert video) in pre-recorded segments from the International Space Station, reciting lines from the band's songs "
Your Blue Room
" and "
In a Little While
".
[9]
References
[
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]
This article incorporates
public domain material
from websites or documents of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
.
External links
[
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]
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