Claude Nicollier

Claude Nicollier was an astrophysicist at Geneva observatory, following studies in physics and astrophysics at the universities of Lausanne and Geneva. He was also a Swiss Air Force pilot, an airline pilot, and trained as a test pilot in the UK.

He was selected in 1978 in the first group of astronauts of the European Space Agency (ESA), and trained on the US Space Shuttle at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He served as a crewmember on four Shuttle missions between 1992 and 1999, including two on-orbit interventions on the Hubble Space Telescope. He spent a total of more than 1000 hours in space during these four missions.

He is currently a member of  “Space Innovation” and honorary Professor in Space Technology and Space Mission Design at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL.

He is also a member of the Federal Commission for Space Affairs, which advises the Federal Council on matters related to the space policy of the Swiss Confederation.  Occasionally, he serves as scientific and technical advisor for Masters or Doctoral students working on space related subjects at EPFL.