On its foundation in1990, the EAC formed the home base for three astronauts. They originally had been selected for the First Spacelab Mission, in which Ulf Merbold participated in 1983. Wubbo Ockels flew with Spacelab D1 in 1985. Claude Nicollier was at this date in training at NASA.

Since then the list of missions flown by European astronauts, most of them supported by the EAC, has lengthened substantially.

The participation of EAC staff in these missions has accumulated a substantial human, technical, operational and scientific expertise in manned space flight activities. The EAC provides not only substantial parts of the training and operational support during missions, but also medical support to the astronauts and their families at their duty stations in the USA and Russia.

Today an impressive number of 31 space missions have been performed by a 27 astronauts from ESA and its member states, providing EAC today with a large accumulated experience on manned space activities.