Marcus Wandt was selected in November 2022 as a member of the ESA astronaut reserve after a year-long selection process. The 2022 ESA recruitment campaign received over 22 5000 applications from across its Member States. Marcus was born in 1980 in Sweden. The Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) and ESA are cooperating to support Marcus’s mission using a commercial fast-track.
Between 2003 and 2014, Marcus was active as a fighter pilot with the Swedish Air Force, including international exercises, operational testing, and operational deployment.
In 2006, Marcus founded and became the CEO of Intuitech AB focusing on tactical training of fighter pilots.
From 2014, he was an experimental test pilot at SAAB Aeronautics in Linköping, Sweden, and deputy chief test pilot between 2018 and 2019.
From 2020, Marcus was chief test pilot and head of flight operations at SAAB Aeronautics.
Throughout his academic and professional career, Marcus received various honours and awards for his outstanding performance as a student and pilot.
Marcus graduated from the Sundsta-Älvkullen High School in 1999. The same year, he became a patrol leader and airborne ranger with the Swedish Army Airborne Ranger School.
In year 2000, he began his studies at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, focusing on electronics and artificial intelligence, communication technology and basic space engineering. He received his master's degree in electrical engineering in 2007.
Marcus joined the Karlberg Military Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2003, where he received leadership training and graduated as an officer from the military officer programme in 2005.
In 2004, Marcus joined the Swedish Air Force Flying Training School to attend basic flying training, which he completed in 2005, followed by basic fighter training in 2006.
In 2011, Marcus was trained to 4-ship lead with the Swedish Air Force Air Operations Commander School and trained to Captain at the Halmstad Military Academy.
From 2013 to 2014, Marcus attended the US Navy Test Pilot School at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, USA, graduating as number one of his class as an experimental test pilot.
Marcus also became a squadron commander and wing commander flying with the Swedish Air Force Operations Commander School.
He speaks Swedish and English.
The first in the new generation of ESA astronauts is getting ready to jump on a commercial spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space. The Swedish astronaut is following an intensive training programme to meet the high standards required for space flight.
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Posted on Thursday August 24th, 2023 by Nadjejda
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Posted on Thursday June 29th, 2023 by Nadjejda
Marcus Wandt is the first in the new generation of European astronauts to jump on a commercial spaceflight with Axiom Space. This article is part of a series about the journey behind his first mission to space, Muninn.
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