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Thiele, Gerhard Paul Julius

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Thiele Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Inactive; Active 1987-2005. Born: 1953-09-02. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 11.24 days. Birth Place: Heidenheim-Brenz.

Grew up in Bruehl, Nordrhein-Westfalen. Educated Heidelberg.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: Gerhard P.J. Thiele

DLR Astronaut (Mission Specialist Candidate)

BIRTH DATE/PLACE:

Born September 2, 1953, in Heidenheim-Brenz, Germany. Considers Brühl, Nordrhein-Westfalen, to be his hometown. Married. Four children. Recreational interests include cooking, music, reading and sports, especially Badminton. He enjoys his profession, and spending time with his family

EDUCATION:

Completed final high school examination at Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Ludwigsburg; studied physics at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, and at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg,from 1976 to 1982; received his doctorate at the Institute for Environmental Physics of Heidelberg Universität, in 1985.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society), American Geophysical Union, and Weltraumforum Aachen at Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Research fellowship at Princeton University by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Society) and Princeton University, Federal Service Cross, 1st Class (1993).

EXPERIENCE:

Thiele served as a volunteer with the Navy of the German Federal Armed Forces. From 1972 to 1976, he served as Operations/Weapons Officer aboard fast patrol boats. Since 1983 he is an acknowledged conscientious objector. From 1976 to 1982, he studied physics at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg. From 1982 to 1985, while completing his doctoral thesis, Thiele was a research assistant at the Institut für Umweltphysik (Institute for Environmental Physics), Universität of Heidelberg. He then completed post-doctoral research at Princeton University from 1986 to 1987. His main interests in research activities focused on large scale ocean circulation as determined by transient tracer methods to investigate into the role of large scale ocean circulation with respect to climate changes. He has authored and coauthored publications in the field of physical and chemical oceanography. In 1988, Thiele began basic astronaut training at DLR (German Aerospace Research Establishment). Upon completion in 1990, he was assigned to the German D-2 Spacelab Mission. In 1992, he reported to the Johnson Space Center where he trained with the crew as back-up Payload Specialist. During the STS-55/Spacelab D-2 Mission (April 26 to May 6, 1993) Thiele served as Alternate Payload Specialist in the Payload Operations Control Center of DLR at Oberpfaffenhofen. In 1994, he served with the Strategic Planning Group for the Program Director of DLR. Since 1994 he also has served as an active member for the IAA (International Academy of Astronautics) Subcommittee on Lunar Development. In 1995, he was assigned to head the Crew Training Center (CTC) at DLR in Cologne. In July 1996, he was selected by DARA (German Space Agency) and DLR (German Aerospace Research Establishment) to attend NASA's Astronaut Candidate Training.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Thiele again reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996 to begin two years of training and evaluation. Successful completion of initial training will qualify him for various technical assignments leading to selection as a mission specialist on a Space Shuttle flight crew.

• Birth of Gerhard Julius Paul Thiele - . Nation: Germany. Related Persons: Thiele. German physicist mission specialist astronaut 1987-2005. DARA. 1 spaceflight, 11.2 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-99 (2000)..

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. With six astronauts on board, Endeavour sped to orbit under cloudless skies from the Kennedy Space Center today to begin the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, the first human space flight of the 21st century.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Tani, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. Space shuttle astronauts deployed the longest rigid structure ever built in space today and continued work to check out the equipment they will use to produce unrivaled three-dimensional images of the Earth's surface.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Payload: Endeavour F14. Mass: 116,277 kg (256,346 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Boeing. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-99. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 11.23 days. Decay Date: 2000-02-22 . USAF Sat Cat: 26088 . COSPAR: 2000-010A. Apogee: 234 km (145 mi). Perigee: 226 km (140 mi). Inclination: 57.00 deg. Period: 89.10 min.

  On an extremely successful mission the space shuttle Endeavour deployed the 61 metre long STRM mast. This was a side-looking radar that digitally mapped with unprecedented accuracy the entire land surface of the Earth between latitudes 60 deg N and 54 deg S. Sponsors of the flight included the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), NASA, and the German and Italian space agencies. Some of the NIMA data would remain classified for exclusive use by the US Department of Defense.

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Ross, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Endeavour astronauts began mapping operations on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will provide maps of the Earth unprecedented in accuracy and uniformity. The first swath was begun as the orbiter crossed over southern Asia and continued until Endeavour flew over the continent's eastern coast and moved over the northern Pacific Ocean. The mapping will continue through the mission until the antenna mast is retracted before landing. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #04 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  By the time members of Endeavour's Red Team had reached lunchtime on this first full day in space for the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, the radar antennas in the payload bay and at the end of a 200-foot mast had mapped about 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) of the Earth's surface, or the equivalent of about half the area of the United States. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Kavandi, Kregel, Thiele. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  The first "flycast maneuver" trim burn was completed without a hitch by members of the Endeavour crew early Sunday. A little later, the Payload Operations Center reported that the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission had successfully mapped 7.64 million square miles as of very early Sunday morning. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #06 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Tani, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission's mapping operation continues to run smoothly, with about 17.7 million square miles of the Earth's surface having been mapped by 7 p.m. Central time. Scientists also reported that 38 percent of landmasses had been mapped thus far in the flight. Despite a problem with a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast, both the C-band and X-band radars continue to perform as expected, and the thruster problem has had no impact on mapping operations. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  "As excited as a kid on Christmas day" is how Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project engineer Ed Caro described his reaction to the progress of the radar-mapping mission thus far. Operations onboard Endeavour continued without interruption, even without the availability of a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the extended boom. By midday, about 24 million square miles had been mapped once, and 9 million square miles twice. That's more than half the planned coverage for the mission. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Endeavour crewmembers successfully completed their second "flycast maneuver" trim burn early Monday, as the spacecraft continued to gather data that will greatly improve our topographical knowledge of the Earth's surface. Scientists already have expressed delight with low-resolution "quick look" data, which revealed features not shown on today's best maps. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  New radar images of Brazil, South Africa and the South Island of New Zealand were unveiled this afternoon by elated scientists of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. "This snapshot of Earth will be used for decades to come," said deputy project scientist Dr. Tom Farr. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. Endeavour astronauts had completed mapping well over half the targeted Earth land surface by early Tuesday, and scientists continued to express delight at the quality of information they were seeing.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  With growing confidence that fuel-saving measures onboard Endeavour will permit the radar mapping mission to run its full duration, flight controllers and crew members today marked the mission's mid-way point. "We're almost there," stated Milt Heflin, NASA's Deputy Chief Flight Director. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #11 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Optimism in orbit and in Mission Control that Endeavour will have enough propellant and power to complete its planned mapping of more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface continues to increase. Mission Control also told the astronauts that the EarthKAM aboard Endeavour has successfully transmitted its 1,000th image for middle school students. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Masses of data that will result in topographical maps far better than any now available continue to flow into high-rate recorders as Endeavour enters the second half of its Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Efforts to conserve propellant and power continue to pay off, with officials gaining more confidence that the entire nine days, nine hours of mapping operations will be completed. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  With unprecedented detail of well over half of the world's terrain already safely stored aboard, Endeavour's crew continued mapping the Earth uninterrupted this morning, marching toward more than nine full days of radar observations thanks to successful fuel conservation measures. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #17 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  The EarthKAM, a digital camera mounted at an overhead window on Endeavour's flight deck, continues its record setting pace. A little after 4 a.m. CST Saturday flight controllers reported it had sent down more than 2,018 images, the combined total of the four previous flights on which it had flown. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #18 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Kregel, Mohri, Thiele. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Following yesterday's decision by mission managers to extend mapping operations, Endeavour's astronauts are set to continue collecting data until 5:44 a.m. Central time Monday. At that point preparations will begin to stow the 200-foot-long mast for the remainder of the mission. This 9-hour extension allows for almost 100 percent of the planned coverage of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #19 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Ross, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99.

  Endeavour's astronauts are looking forward to using one more small bonus in mapping operations time. They were given an additional 10 minutes, bringing the total to nine days, 18 hours and 10 minutes. The additional minutes have been added to allow one more mapping pass across Australia, rather than turning off the radar just as the spacecraft approaches the nation's coastline. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #22 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Ross, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. With mapping operations complete and Endeavour's radar mapping hardware stowed, astronauts today conducted checks of various flight control surfaces and thruster jets in preparation for tomorrow's return to Earth.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-99 Mission Status Report #24 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Ross, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. The six astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center at sunset today, wrapping up their 11-day radar mapping mission, the first human space flight of the 21st century.. Additional Details: here....

• Landing of STS-99 - . Return Crew: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Gorie, Kavandi, Kregel, Mohri, Thiele, Voss, Janice. Program: STS. Flight: STS-99. STS-99 landed at 23:22 GMT. .