28 December
1999: On 28 December 1999, European astronauts Claude Nicollier and Jean-François Clervoy and their five fellow crew members on the Space Shuttle Discovery returned to Earth.
The mission was launched to service the Hubble Space Telescope. During the flight, Nicollier became the first European astronaut to walk in space from the Shuttle as he worked with British-born astronaut Michael Foale on a six-hour stint in space. Nicollier and Foale successfully replaced the telescope's computer, dramatically increasing Hubble's capabilities and significantly cutting operational costs.
