Prof. Dr. Reinhard Alfred Furrer (25 November 1940 – 9 September 1995) was a German physicist and astronaut.
Furrer was born in Wörgl, Ostmark (now Austria). After the end of World War II, his father was expelled from Austria. The family found a new home in Kempten im Allgäu, Bavaria. Furrer stayed there until he joined the University of Kiel to study physics. He later transferred to the Free University of Berlin, where he received a diploma in 1969, and a doctorate in 1972. During his time as a student in Berlin, he was involved in the building of the 145 metre (475') long "Tunnel 57" below the Berlin Wall, which was the escape route of 57 people from East Berlin to the West.
In 1974 he became assistant professor in Stuttgart and in 1979 qualified for full professorship. He spent time during 1980–1981 at the University of Chicago and during 1981 at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, USA.
In 1977 Furrer applied for selection as an astronaut for the first Spacelab mission. He made it into the final round of candidates, although Ulf Merbold was finally selected. In 1982, the astronauts for the first German Spacelab mission were selected from the finalists for the first mission, and Furrer was one of the two chosen. He was a payload specialist on STS-61-A (D1), which was launched on 30 October 1985. The other payload specialists on the flight were Ernst Messerschmid and Wubbo Ockels (Netherlands).
Furrer wore the Sinn (watchmaker) model 140 S on his wrist during the STS-61-A mission in 1985
After his spaceflight he became a professor in 1987 as well as the Director of the Institute of Space Sciences at the Free University of Berlin.
Furrer was an avid pilot. He earned his pilot license in 1974, doing several long-distance trips with one engine planes - including a flight over the inland ice of Greenland in 1979 and a solo flight from Germany to Quito, Ecuador in 1981. His love for planes finally cost him his life, as he died in a plane crash after a flight show on the Johannisthal Air Field (Berlin). He was a passenger of pilot Gerd Kahdemann in a historic Bf 108 when the plane crashed shortly after 6:00 p.m. after performing a roll at low altitude. Both Kahdemann and Furrer were killed instantly.
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Alfred Furrer (25 November 1940 – 9 September 1995) was a German physicist and astronaut. Furrer was born in Wörgl, Ostmark (now Austria)...
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35 West Berliners, including Wolfgang Fuchs, the future astronaut ReinhardFurrer, and many students from the Freie University in West Berlin, helped...
in space was Sigmund Jähn in 1978. Three astronauts – Ulf Merbold, ReinhardFurrer and Ernst Messerschmid – represented West Germany during the time of...
who approached Furrer before he recognized much too late that a gun was pointed in his direction. Familiar with the surroundings, Furrer quickly receded...
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FSLP (1983), with Ulf Merbold using Spaceman on STS-9 D1 (1985), with ReinhardFurrer and Ernst Messerschmid ( with Netherlands' Wubbo Ockels on STS-61-A)...
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to the air field, killing all 28 passengers. The German astronaut ReinhardFurrer died on September 9, 1995, during a historic flight show. (in German)...
Reinhard Genzel ForMemRS (German pronunciation: [ˈʁaɪnhaʁt ˈɡɛntsl̩] ; born 24 March 1952) is a German astrophysicist, co-director of the Max Planck Institute...
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crashed during an airshow, killing pilot Gerd Kahdemann and passenger ReinhardFurrer, a former astronaut who had flown in space for Germany in 1985 during...
Nagel, Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford – USA ReinhardFurrer, Ernst Messerschmid – West Germany Wubbo Ockels – Netherlands (European...
Germany) Ernst Messerschmid — STS-61-A (1985) (flew for West Germany) ReinhardFurrer, born in Wörgl, Austria (1940–1995) — STS-61-A (1985) (flew for West...
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United States 188 Bonnie Dunbar United States 30 October 1985 STS-61-A ReinhardFurrer West Germany Ernst Messerschmid West Germany Wubbo Ockels Netherlands...
Martin Feldstein, American economist and academic (d. 2019) 1940 – ReinhardFurrer, Austrian-German physicist and astronaut (d. 1995) 1940 – Joe Gibbs...