High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Thomas Arthur Reiter (born May 23, 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany) is a retired European astronaut and is a Brigadier General in the Luftwaffe. As of 2008, he was one of the top 25 astronauts in terms of total time in space. He lives in Wahnbek (near Oldenburg) in Lower Saxony. In 1982, Reiter received his diploma in aerospace engineering from the University of the German Federal Armed Forces, Munich. He completed his training as a pilot in Germany and Texas.