Claudia Kessler

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Claudia Kessler (2012)

Claudia Kessler (born 1965 ) is a German aerospace engineer and one of the few female managers in the space industry. She is the founder of the private foundation Die Astronautin , with whose support the first German female astronaut is to fly into space in 2021 .

Live and act

Claudia Kessler grew up in Mühldorf am Inn in Upper Bavaria . Her father was a car mechanic and later a car dealer, her mother was involved in local politics and was the first woman in Mühldorf am Inn to be elected city ​​councilor .

After graduating from high school, she studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1984 . After passing her intermediate diploma , she chose the aerospace engineering specialization and completed her studies in 1990 as a graduate engineer . Her final thesis 1989–1990 was written in cooperation with the Institute for Space and Astronautics Japan. She then got her first permanent position and worked until 1999 at Kayser-Threde , a medium-sized space technology company in Munich. In 1993 she completed additional studies at the International Space University in Alsace .

In 1999 Claudia Kessler switched to EADS Raumtransport as a manager . From 2004, she worked for HE Space Operations for 14 years as a recruiter for specialists in aerospace technology. HE Space specializes in personnel recruitment with an exclusive focus on the space sector. Equality for women was lived in the company itself and it was proven that a balanced gender ratio is also possible in technical professions: 55 percent of 200 technical employees are female.

In 2016 she began to promote the establishment of the private initiative Die Astronautin , of which she has been managing director since 2017. The company has set itself the goal of bringing the first German woman to the International Space Station ISS as an astronaut . From the original 400 applicants who applied as candidates in 2016, the meteorologist Insa Thiele-Eich and the astrophysicist Suzanna Randall are preparing for a possible flight to the ISS.

Through her continuous commitment in various management positions, Claudia Kessler managed to sustainably strengthen the position of women in technological professions.

Honorary positions

In 2009 Claudia Kessler founded the Network Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E) together with Simonetta Di Pippo , the then director of space at the European Space Agency ( ESA ), with the help of which international careers of women specialists and managers in space are promoted , and which has more than 500 members in 12 European countries.

She is a member of the Senate of the German Aerospace Society (DGLR) and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) as well as a member of the plenum of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce .

Awards

  • 2016: Bremen Diversity Prize
  • 2018: 25 women who revolutionize our economy
  • 2019: Polarstern Award from the Austrian Space Forum
  • 2019: Soroptimist Germany Prize

Web links

Commons : Claudia Kessler  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stefanie Bilen: From women in leadership roles and the fascination of space travel. In: Te: nor. Bethmann Bank AG, November 1, 2017, accessed on June 22, 2020 .
  2. ↑ female astronauts. In: The astronaut. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .
  3. ^ Vita Claudia Kessler. Soroptimist Germany, March 8, 2019, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Polarstern Award goes to Claudia Kessler. In: Austrian Space Forum (OeWF). November 22, 2019, accessed on June 22, 2020 (German).
  5. ↑ Annemarie Struß-von Pöllnitz: Diversity-Preis-Bremen 2016. Hochschule Bremen, accessed on June 22, 2020 .
  6. ↑ These are the 25 women who are revolutionizing our economy. Edition F, June 8, 2018, accessed June 22, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Soroptimist Germany Prize 2019. Soroptimist International Germany, accessed on June 22, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Kessler, Claudia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer for aerospace technology and founder of "Die Astronautin"
DATE OF BIRTH 1965