Dirk Frimout

Dirk Frimout worked in space before he became an astronaut. At ESA, he was responsible for scientific experiments with rockets, parabolic flights, and Spacelab missions.

In 1992, he was allowed to go into space himself. He flew with the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-45). During that space flight, he was responsible for the experiments, four of which came from Belgium. He conducted research on the Earth's atmosphere, the ozone layer and UV radiation from the sun.

Back in Belgium, Dirk was instantly super-famous. He got a big parade, complete with a shower of confetti. Yet he remained ‘just’ Dirk. He went to work for a telecoms company and encouraged young people to choose scientific or technical studies through the Euro Space Foundation.

Did you know this about Dirk?

• The best moment of his space mission Dirk experienced just after launch, when the space shuttle's engines went out and he floated for the first time. ‘Euphoric’, he called that feeling.

• He was called in space by Prince Philip of Belgium. The latter then said: ‘Dirk, you can call me Filip, because I think there is absolutely no protocol in space.’

• He wrote more than 30 scientific papers on the atmosphere, training methods for Spacelab and experiments in microgravity.

• In the Suske and Wiske album The Dying Star, Dirk is an old friend of Professor Barabas. Together they help the space creature Klomo, an explorer from the planet Orbis.

• Actually, Dirk was supposed to fly to space back in 1986. But the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger delayed his flight until 1992.

• Dirk's space flight lasted exactly 8 days, 22 hours, 9 minutes and 28 seconds.