Thomas Reiter Dual-Signed ESA Portrait — EUROMIR 95, First ESA Spacewalk

On 3 September 1995, a Soyuz rocket lifted off from Baikonur carrying a German fighter pilot turned astronaut into a chapter of history most space enthusiasts forget to cite. Thomas Reiter spent 179 days aboard the Russian station Mir — the longest spaceflight by any ESA astronaut at that time — and on 20 October 1995 he stepped outside the station for a spacewalk, becoming the first ESA astronaut ever to perform an EVA. Not Armstrong. Not Gagarin. Not even the names that fill the schoolbook pages. Reiter. And almost nobody outside the space community knows it.

This is the official ESA / TsPK publicity portrait issued for the EUROMIR 95 mission: Reiter suited in his Sokol pressure suit, name tag reading "T. REITER / Т. РАЙТЕР" in Latin and Cyrillic, the ESA patch at his left breast, the МИР (Mir) and EUROMIR mission patches worn below. He signed it twice — once in a clean running hand across the sky in the upper right, and again in a bold crossing script across his chest. The verso carries the printed ESA biographical card for the EUROMIR 95 MISSION, photo credit: TsPK for ESA. Mesilla Valley Estate Sales will issue a Certificate of Authenticity with this lot.

European human spaceflight has always operated in the shadow of NASA and Roscosmos, which makes its genuine firsts all the more worth holding onto. Reiter's EUROMIR 95 mission launched under the European Space Agency's partnership with the Russian Federal Space Agency, placing a German military test pilot — trained at Star City, qualified as a Mir on-board engineer — inside the aging but still-flying Mir complex for nearly six months. He ran approximately 40 scientific experiments, logged two EVAs totaling 8 hours 22 minutes, and landed in March 1996 having set a European spaceflight endurance record that stood for years. He returned to space in 2006 aboard STS-121, joining the International Space Station crew — one of only a handful of ESA astronauts to fly to both Mir and the ISS. The EUROMIR missions remain foundational in the story of European human spaceflight, and Reiter is their most decorated figure.

Dual-signed astronaut cards — signed twice, in two distinct locations, on the same piece — are less common than single-signature examples; many collectors pursue the double for the visual impact alone. For those focused specifically on ESA history or first-EVA milestones, Reiter cards tie directly to a named mission, a named record, and a signed biographical card that contextualizes the achievement on the verso. The included COA from Mesilla Valley Estate Sales provides a documented provenance anchor for the lot.

CONDITION

Very Good. The card presents clean and bright with strong color and bold, fully legible dual signatures. Minor handling wear to the edges and corners consistent with age; no creasing through the image area.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Format: Color photographic card, printed ESA biographical verso
• Signatures: Two, black ink, obverse
• Mission documented: EUROMIR 95 (launched 3 September 1995)
• COA: Mesilla Valley Estate Sales
• Size: Pending