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A-Z of European Space

The first decades: 1959-1994

Personalities Organisations Projects
  • 1982 - Graduated in Aerospace Technologyfrom the German Armed Forces University in Munich
  • 1980s - Flew in a fighter-bomber squadron based in Oldenburg, Germany, becoming flight-operations officer and deputy squadron commander
  • 1992 - Graduated from the Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS) in the UK
  • 1992 - Joined ESA’s Astronaut Corps, ESA Astronaut on two missions from 1995 to 2006
  • 2007 - Member of the Executive Board of the DLR - German Aerospace Center, responsible for Space Research and Technology
  • 2011-2015 - ESA Director Human Spaceflight and Operations,
  • 2016 - Advisor to the ESA Director General

During his time as a figher pilot, Reiter was involved in the ESA studies for the Hermes crewed space shuttle and development of equipment for the Columbus space laboratory. In 1992, he joined ESA’s European Astronaut Corps. After basic training, he was selected for the Euromir 95 mission and started training at Star City near Moscow, Russia. In 1995, he was assigned as flight engineer for the Euromir 95 mission that lasted a record-breaking 179 days from September 1995 to February 1996, becoming the first German astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

He subsequently trained on the Soyuz-TM spacecraft, and supported the ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle team and European Robotic Arm programme. In 2001 he was assigned to an advanced training class to prepare for the first European long-duration mission to the International Space Station. In 2006 Reiter took part in the Astrolab mission, ESA’s first long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Following launch on Space Shuttle Discovery on flight STS-121, he spent 166 days on the Space Station as Flight Engineer 2 for Expedition crews 13 and 14 and ran 19 experiments on behalf of a number of European institutions and research centres.

From April 2011 to December 2015 he was Director of ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Operations, managing Europe’s contribution to the International Space Station, the Agency's human spaceflight activities and the operations of ESA’s satellite missions and of the ground segment.

  • 1962 - graduated in Production Engineering at the Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) Technical University and joined the Nuclear Research Centre KFA Jülich as Section Head for project planning and external contracts
  • 1969 - Engineer in the Forecast and Programmes Division of ESRO in Paris, subsequently Head of the General Planning Department at ESA (1976-1981)
  • 1981-1985 - Project Control Manager of the Franco-German Direct Broadcast Satellite Project TV-SAT/TDF 1 for the DLR (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt)
  • 1985 - Returned to ESA as Head of the Coordination and Monitoring Office and, in 1988, Head of the Director General's Cabinet.

As Head of the ESA DG’s Cabinet, Reuter prepared and organized meetings of the ESA Council, Administrative and Finance Committee and Management Board, including the ESA Council Sessions at Ministerial Level in 1987, 1991, 1992 and 1995. In 1990 he initiated the ESA History Project, hosted by the European University Institute in Florence, which he managed until his retirement in 1999.

See also: Interview with Karl-Egon Reuter from the Oral History of Europe in Space Collection

  • 1959 – Graduated from the University of Rome La Sapienza as an electronics engineer.
  • 1959 – Began his career with SISPRE SpA, Italy
  • 1965-1966 – Italian delegate to NATO in Paris
  • 1966-1980 – Worked in Italian industry for Selenia, first as the Head of the Electronic Design Group and then as Head of the Radar and Systems Division
  • 1980-1983 – Head of the Compagnia Nazionale Satelliti, CNS SpA
  • 1983-1997 – Various positions for Selenia Spazio/Alenia Spazio, becoming Joint Managing Director and Director of the Space Division of Finmeccanica
  • 1997-2003 – Fifth Director General of ESA

Rodotà spent the majority of his career in Italian industry with over a decade of work at Selenia in the 1970s. He joined Selenia Spazio in 1983, where he held the position of Joint-Managing Director until 1990, when he became Joint Managing Director of Alenia Spazio SpA (later Alenia Aerospazio), and Chief Executive Officer in 1995. Under his leadership, Alenia became one of Europe's leading suppliers of space hardware for the ISS.

After the merger of Alenia Spazio with Finmeccanica in 1996, Rodotà became Head of the Space Division of Finmeccanica, and Chairman and Managing Director of Quadrics Supercomputer World, a joint venture between Alenia Spazio SpA and Meiko Ltd.

He was the first ESA Director General to come directly from the space industry.  During his term of office at ESA, Rodotà was a fervent advocate of international cooperation and the fostering of European activities in space. His mandate oversaw the signature of the (Second) Intergovernmental Agreement on Space Station Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding between ESA and NASA, the establishment of a unified European Astronaut Corps, the initiation of the International Charter on ‘Space and Major Disasters, and the adoption by ESA and the EU of a common strategy for space.  He is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Galileo, Europe’s satellite navigation system.