He circled the earth 136 times between the end of July and August 8 on the space shuttle Atlantis.
On August 7, he received a congratulatory call from the then Swiss transport minister Adolf Ogi.
Ogi’s off the cuff remark ‘Freude Herrscht’ (happiness reigns) would become legendary in German-speaking Switzerland.
Nicollier, remembering his first moments in space, told the newspaper, the Südostschweiz: “I had the feeling of being pulled against the ceiling. I kept banging my head against the control panels and fuses.”
In his role today as a teacher, Nicollier says he has a certain responsibility to pass on what he’s learned. “I’ve experienced the extraordinary.”
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Swiss astronaut shares memories of moon landing
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Claude Nicollier tells swissinfo.ch that when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the Moon 40 years ago it was like a childhood dream come true. Nicollier joined the United States space agency, Nasa, in 1980 to become a member of the team of future space shuttle specialists. He later took part…
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In a wide-ranging interview, Nicollier also expresses confidence that Europe’s satellite navigation system, Galileo, will go ahead despite funding and scheduling problems. Switzerland has contributed around €30 million (SFr49.5 million) and a Swiss company is providing atomic clocks for the project that will rival the US-run Global Positioning System (GPS). The launch date for the…
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Nicollier, the only non-American to have been given mission specialist status by Nasa, tells swissinfo how the film highlights his passion for science fiction and his belief that life can be found all over the universe. The film, shot by his niece Maria Nicollier, aims to show not only the adventures of the 62-year-old astronaut,…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.