Dirk Frimout
Astronaut
European Space Agency astrophysicist and the first Belgian citizen to travel to space. He flew on NASA's 1992 STS-45 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
He studied engineering and physics at the University of Ghent. He later performed experiments for the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.
He was a payload specialist on a Space Shuttle mission in 1992. His sole space flight made him an instant celebrity in Belgium.
He married and had two children.
Like United States citizen Alan Shepard, Frimout was the first person from his country to go into space.