1944-

Astronaut. Born in Vevey, Canton Vaud, studied at the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, became a pilot in the Swiss airforce in 1966. In 1976 joined the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands and in 1980 took part in astronaut training in Houston. Participated in four space missions:  Atlantis (1992), Hubble Repair (1993), Columbia (1996) and Discovery (1999). He retired as an astronaut after the Discovery flight, but continues to work with NASA.