Franco Malerba
Encyclopedia
Franco Egidio Malerba (born October 10, 1946, in Busalla, Genoa, Italy) is an Italian
astronaut
. He was the first citizen of Italy to travel to space.
Married to the former Marie-Aude Némo. They have one child. Recreational interests include mountaineering, skiing, and tennis. He is fluent in Italian, English, and French.
. Served in 1974-75 (Sottotenente Armi Navali); was assigned to the Destroyer San Giorgio as Science Lecturer to the Navy Academy, and then to the Mariperman Technical Center in La Spezia working on ELF transmission systems.
(ASI) and NASA, he became a staff member of ASI and was assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, for training. In September 1991, he was designated Prime Payload Specialist for the TSS-1 Space Shuttle mission. Malerba flew as the first Italian citizen in space on STS-46
(July 31, 1992 to August 7, 1992). He is now involved with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) manned space flight program follow-on activities.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He was the first citizen of Italy to travel to space.
Married to the former Marie-Aude Némo. They have one child. Recreational interests include mountaineering, skiing, and tennis. He is fluent in Italian, English, and French.
Education
- 1965 Maturita classica (Lyceum).
- 1970 University degree, Electronics Engineer, University of GenoaUniversity of GenoaThe University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...
, Italy, specializing in the telecommunications field (laurea 110/110 cum Laude). - 1974 Doctorate in Physics, University of Genoa, (110/110) specializing in Biophysics (after research work at the Italian National Research CouncilConsiglio Nazionale delle RicercheThe Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche or National Research Council, is an Italian public organization set up to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.-History:The institution was founded in 1923...
(CNR) and at the National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, Bethesda, Maryland, USA).
Research Activities
- 1970-75 Research Assistant at CNR's Laboratorio de Biofisica e Cibernetica (Genoa) carrying experimental work on membrane biophysics (using squid axons) and biological membrane modeling with lipid bilayers.
- 1971 Lecturer of Cybernetics and Information Theory at the Physics Faculty, University of Genoa.
- 1972 Summer Research Assistant at the Nato Saclant Research Center (La Spezia, Italy) working on computer-aided signal detection methodologies for sonar data systems.
- 1972-74 Research Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland) designing, developing, testing and using a fast micro-spectrophotometer for research on photoreceptors biophysics (using frog retinas).
- 1977-80 In 1977, Dr. Malerba was chosen by the European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA) as one of four European Payload Specialist Candidates for the first Spacelab mission. After this selection he became a staff member at the European Space Research and Technology CentreEuropean Space Research and Technology CentreThe European Space Research and Technology Centre is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands....
(ESTEC) of ESA Space Science Department, Space Plasma Physics Division, working in the development, testing, and qualification of ES020 - PICPAB, an experiment in Ionospheric Plasma Physics for the first Spacelab payload, flown in 1983, involving the use of accelerated charged particle beams (cooperation involved French CNRS/CRPE, Norwegian NRDE and ESTEC).
Industry experience
- 1976-89 Held technical and technical management positions with Digital Equipment in Italy and in Europe. He worked mainly in the field of multiprocessor systems (Paris 1976, Milan 1977), computer networks engineering (Geneva 1981-85), and telecommunications technology (Rome 1986-88, and Sophia Antipolis in 1989).
Military experience
Reserve Officer, Marina MilitareMarina Militare
The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...
. Served in 1974-75 (Sottotenente Armi Navali); was assigned to the Destroyer San Giorgio as Science Lecturer to the Navy Academy, and then to the Mariperman Technical Center in La Spezia working on ELF transmission systems.
Flying status
Obtained Private Pilot License (College Park, Washington, D.C., 1973) and then the equivalent Italian flying license.Spaceflight experience
After selection in 1989 as a Payload Specialist by the Italian Space AgencyItalian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy...
(ASI) and NASA, he became a staff member of ASI and was assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, for training. In September 1991, he was designated Prime Payload Specialist for the TSS-1 Space Shuttle mission. Malerba flew as the first Italian citizen in space on STS-46
STS-46
STS-46 was a NASA space shuttle mission using orbiter Atlantis and launched on 31 July 1992 at 9:56:48 am EDT.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee:...
(July 31, 1992 to August 7, 1992). He is now involved with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) manned space flight program follow-on activities.