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<p><b>Roberto Vittori</b> is an Italian air force officer and an <a href="/pages/w/108163565878249">ESA</a> <a href="/pages/w/112329918782267">astronaut</a>. After graduating from the Italian <a href="/pages/w/185230644942587">Accademia Aeronautica</a> in 1989, Vittori flew in the <a href="/pages/w/107951059225089">Italian Air Force</a>. He then trained as a test pilot in the United States.</p><p>In 1998, Vittori was selected by the ESA to join the <a href="/pages/w/124270350951108">European Astronaut Corps</a>. Since then, he has participated in three spaceflights: the <a href="/pages/w/136960906324272">Soyuz TM-34</a>/<a href="/pages/w/137155019638677">33</a> and <a href="/pages/w/129857820389017">Soyuz TMA-6</a>/<a href="/pages/w/119132054799507">5</a> taxi flights to the ISS, as well as <a href="/pages/w/138533096170307">STS-134</a>, the penultimate mission of the American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Program" class="wikipedia">Space Shuttle Program</a>. He was the last non-American to fly aboard the shuttle.</p><h2>Career</h2><p>He graduated from the Italian Air Force Academy in 1989 and trained in the United States. He flew the <a href="/pages/w/105440369490283">Tornado</a> in the Italian Air Force before graduating in 1995 from the <a href="/pages/w/105563046144567">U.S. Naval Test Pilot School</a> at <a href="/pages/w/110122652350181">Patuxent River, Maryland</a> where he was the first in his class. He served at the Italian Test Center as a project pilot for the development of the new European aircraft, the <a href="/pages/w/116884141655565">EF2000</a>. Vittori flew <a href="/pages/w/105440369490283">Tornado GR1</a> aircraft with the 155th Squadron, 50th Wing, <a href="/pages/w/114087905268735">Piacenza</a> (Italy) from 1991 to 1994. During that time, he qualified for day/night air-to-air refuelling as well as a formation leader. He has logged over 1700 hours in over 40 different aircraft including <a href="/pages/w/112521502099213">F-104</a>, <a href="/pages/w/116427408404589">F-18</a>, AMX, M-2000, <a href="/pages/w/115343845148992">G-222</a> and P-180.</p>