Ulf Merbold became the first non-American to fly on a NASA spacecraft during the 1983 STS-9 mission. As a payload specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, he conducted critical experiments in materials science and microgravity. His path to orbit spanned decades of physical research and complex geopolitical shifts in his home country of Germany.
Early Life and Education
Born in Greiz on 20 June 1941, Merbold grew up in a family of teachers. Following the end of World War II, his father Herbert was imprisoned in NKVD special camp Nr. 2, where he died in 1948. Prevented from university studies in East Germany due to his refusal to join the Free German Youth, Merbold traveled to West Berlin in 1960. He eventually settled in Stuttgart, earning a physics diploma in 1968 and a doctorate in 1976 from the University of Stuttgart. His doctoral research focused on the effects of neutron radiation on nitrogen-doped iron, which led to his employment at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research.
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In 1977, the European Space Agency issued a call for astronaut candidates to support the developing Spacelab project. Out of thousands of applicants, Merbold was one of four individuals selected alongside Franco Malerba, Claude Nicollier, and Wubbo Ockels. Because he did not meet the stringent medical requirements for NASA mission specialists due to a past ureter stone, he served as a payload specialist. He began training at the Johnson Space Center in 1978.
Space Flight Missions
Merbold completed three space flights during his career. His inaugural mission in 1983 aboard STS-9 allowed him to perform experiments in life sciences. In 1992, he participated in the STS-42 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist for the International Microgravity Laboratory-1. His final mission occurred in 1994, which involved extended research time on the Mir space station.
Professional Contributions
Beyond his time in space, Merbold supported numerous ground-based initiatives for the European Space Agency. He functioned as a backup astronaut and crew interface coordinator for the Spacelab D-1 mission and served as science coordinator for the D-2 mission in 1993. His administrative duties included working on the Columbus program at the European Space Research and Technology Centre and leading the astronaut office at the German Aerospace Center until he retired in 2004.
Fast facts
- Born: 1941, Greiz
- Education: University of Stuttgart
- Doctorate: Physics, 1976
- Total days in space: 49
- First flight: 1983, STS-9
- Retirement: 2004
- Languages: German
Questions readers ask
What was Ulf Merbold's academic specialty?
He was a physicist who focused on solid-state and low-temperature physics, particularly lattice defects in body-centered cubic materials.
Which space stations did Merbold visit?
Achievements
- Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia — 1988
- Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany — 1984
- Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg — 1983
- Educated at University of Stuttgart
- Worked as astronaut, physicist and payload specialist
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