Nicola Winter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicola Winter
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Winter in 2022
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| Born | 10 March 1985 Munich, West Germany |
| Allegiance |  Germany |
| Years of service | 2004–2018 |
| Rank | Major |
| Space career | |
| ESA Astronaut | |
| Selection | 2022 ESA Group |
Nicola Winter (née Baumann; born on March 10, 1985) is an amazing German reserve astronaut and a former fighter pilot! She made history in 2007 by becoming the second woman to fly fighter jets for the German Air Force. She flew powerful planes like the Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Later, she was chosen to be a reserve astronaut for the European Astronaut Corps in 2022. This means she could one day travel to space!
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Becoming a Fighter Pilot
Nicola Winter comes from a family that loves to fly. Her mother enjoyed flying hang gliders, and her younger sister is also a pilot! In 2004, Nicola joined the German Air Force. She spent a year learning how to be an officer.
Pilot Training Journey
After officer training, Nicola spent another year studying to prepare for pilot training. This special training lasted 53 weeks! She attended the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program (ENJJPT) at Sheppard Air Force Base. She successfully finished her training and became a qualified pilot in 2007.
Flying Fighter Jets
After becoming a pilot, Nicola Winter was assigned to the 322nd Squadron in Bavaria. There, she flew Tornado jets. She flew alongside Major Ulrike Flender, who was Germany's first female fighter pilot. Ulrike had finished her pilot training about ten months before Nicola.
In 2012, Nicola became an instructor pilot at ENJJPT, teaching others how to fly. By 2015, she completed her training to fly the advanced Eurofighter Typhoon. In 2018, she took a break from the military to work in management consulting.
Dream of Space
In 2016, a private space program called Die Astronautin started looking for the first German woman to go to space. Before this, all eleven Germans who had traveled to space were men.
Applying to be an Astronaut
As a fighter pilot, Nicola Winter applied to join this program. She was one of 86 candidates in September 2016. By December 2016, she was one of 30 women in the final selection process. She was chosen as one of two winners! However, she later decided to leave that program.
Becoming an ESA Astronaut
Nicola Winter's dream of space continued. In 2022, she was selected as a reserve astronaut for the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group. This is a big step towards potentially flying to space with the European Space Agency (ESA)!
