He was born in Madrid in 1963, as the son of an agricultural engineer who worked as an air traffic controller, and a housewife from Badajoz. In 1986, Duque earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. In 1986, he worked for GMV and for the European Space Agency (ESA) for six years before being selected as an astronaut candidate in 1992.
Astronaut
Duque underwent training in both Russia and the United States. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle mission STS-95, during which Duque supervised ESA experimental modules. In October 2003, Duque visited the International Space Station on board of a Soyuz TMA Ship for several days during a crew changeover. The scientific program of this visit was called by ESA/Spain Misión Cervantes.
Duque (standing, second from the right) with the crew of the STS-95 in 1998
In 2003, he started working at UPM School of Aeronautical Engineers as head of operations of the Spanish USOC, also lecturing students on space science and operations.[1]
In 2006, Duque was named managing director of Deimos Imaging, a private company, that in 2009 put in orbit the first Spanish earth observation satellite (Deimos 1) with uses in agriculture, forestry wildfire detection and control. In 2011, he was named CEO of the Company.
Return to the ESA
In October 2011, Duque returned to his position in the European Space Agency, retaking his position as an astronaut. Until 2015, he was the leader of the Flight Operations Office, with responsibility for ESA operations in the ISS. In 2016, Duque participated in ESA CAVES[2] training. After that he assumed the responsibility of the review of future ESA crewed flights, within the ESA's astronaut corps.
Minister
Duque photographed in 2018 in La Moncloa with his minister portfolio.
In April 2019, Duque announced that his ministry was going to increase Spain's contribution to the European Space Agency by €701 million between 2020 and 2026 to ensure a proper contribution regarding the Spanish economy size.[4]
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