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In Memoriam


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Cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov, who led 3 Soyuz missions, dies at 93

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June 15, 2021 — Vladimir Shatalov, a Soviet-era cosmonaut who achieved the first-ever docking between two crewed spacecraft, has died at the age of 93.

Shatalov's death on Tuesday (June 15) was reported by Roscosmos, Russia's federal space corporation.

"The Roscosmos state corporation expresses condolences to the family and friends of Vladimir Shatalov. Everlasting memory!" the space agency wrote on its website.

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Rich Clifford, astronaut who secretly flew with Parkinson's, dies at 69

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Dec. 28, 2021 — Michael "Rich" Clifford, who as a NASA astronaut flew on three space shuttle missions, including one after his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease, has died at the age of 69.

Clifford's death on Tuesday (Dec. 28) was confirmed by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), a professional organization for astronauts and cosmonauts that included Clifford as a life member. He died due to complications from Parkinson's.

Read more: collectSPACE

 

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NASA Mourns Passing of Visionary Heliophysicist Eugene Parker

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Dr. Eugene N. Parker, visionary of heliophysics and namesake of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, has passed away. He was 94.

As a young professor at the University of Chicago in the mid-1950s, Parker developed a mathematical theory that predicted the solar wind, the constant outflow of solar material from the Sun. Throughout his career, Parker revolutionized the field time and again, advancing ideas that addressed the fundamental questions about the workings of our Sun and stars throughout the universe.

Read More: NASA

 

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James W. Truran, pioneer in nuclear astrophysics and beloved colleague, 1940-2022

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Prof. Emeritus James W. Truran, who helped lay the foundations for our understanding of how virtually all elements of the universe were created in stars and stellar explosions, died March 5. He was 81.

 

A leading figure in the field of nuclear astrophysics, the University of Chicago scientist specialized in understanding the various ways that stars burn and explode, and the elements these processes produce. These processes shape the modern-day universe, affecting the lives of later stars and the formation of planets, including ours. 

Read More: University of Chicago

 

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Bjarni Tryggvason, one of Canada's original astronauts, dies at 76

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April 6, 2022 — Bjarni Tryggvason, one of Canada's original six astronauts who flew on board NASA's space shuttle, has died at the age of 76.

The news of Tryggvason's death on Monday (April 5) was first shared online by former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who trained with Tryggvason as a member of the U.S. space agency's 1998 group of international astronaut candidates.

Read more: collectSPACE

 

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Astronaut James McDivitt, Apollo 9 commander, dies at 93

James A. McDivitt, who commanded the Apollo 9 mission testing the first complete set of equipment to go to the moon, has died. He was 93.

McDivitt was also the commander of 1965's Gemini 4 mission, where his best friend and colleague Ed White made the first U.S. spacewalk. His photographs of White during the spacewalk became iconic images.

He passed on a chance to land on the moon and instead became the space agency's program manager for five Apollo missions after the Apollo 11 moon landing.

McDivitt died Thursday in Tucson, Arizona, NASA said Monday.

https://phys.org/news/2022-10-astronaut-james-mcdivitt-apollo-dies.html

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Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA's Apollo program, died Tuesday in Houston. He was 90.

NASA confirmed Cunningham's death in a statement but did not include its cause. His family said through a spokesman, Jeff Carr, that Cunningham died in a hospital "from complications of a fall, after a full and complete life."

Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day spaceflight that beamed live television broadcasts as they orbited Earth, paving the way for the moon landing less than a year later.

Cunningham, then a civilian, crewed the mission with Navy Capt. Walter M. Schirra and Donn F. Eisele, an Air Force major. Cunningham was the lunar module pilot on the space flight, which launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 11 and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean south of Bermuda.

https://phys.org/news/2023-01-apollo-astronaut-walter-cunningham-dead.html

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Jean-Jacques Favier, first French scientist to fly into space, dies at 73

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March 24, 2023 — Jean-Jacques Favier, who in 1996 became the sixth astronaut and first scientist from France to launch into space, has died at the age of 73.

Favier's death on Sunday (March 19) was confirmed by CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales or National Centre for Space Studies), France's space agency.

Read more: collectSPACE

 

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Virginia Norwood, pioneered Earth imagery as ‘mother of Landsat,’ dies at 96

A male colleague once quit rather than work under Ms. Norwood’s leadership. When he asked to return, she turned him down.

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Virginia Norwood, a pioneering aerospace engineer who used design innovations, emerging technologies and seasoned intuition in projects that scanned the lunar surface for safe Apollo landing sites and mapped the Earth from space with digital imagery never before seen, died March 26 at her home in Topanga, Calif. She was 96.

Ms. Norwood’s daughter, Naomi Norwood, confirmed the death but did not provide a cause.

Read More: The Washington Post

 

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Sam Durrance, astronaut who flew with telescope he built, dies at 79

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May 5, 2023 — Samuel Durrance, who as an astronomer was one of the first non-career astronauts to fly with NASA after the loss of space shuttle Challenger, has died at the age of 79.

Durrance's death on Friday (May 5) came as result of complications from a fall, as reported by the Astro Restoration Project, a volunteer-driven effort to preserve the astronomical hardware that Durrance helped design and use in space.

"Sam died quietly today surrounded by family after a long struggle with dementia and Parkinson's disease. He had spent his final days in hospice care at a facility in Viera, Florida," his family said. "A true scientist to the end and beyond, Sam asked that his body be donated to support the ongoing medical research associated with astronauts who have flown in space."

Read More: collectSpace

 

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Owen Jay Gingerich, 1930–2023

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Owen Jay Gingerich, well-known historian of astronomy and contributor to Sky & Telescope for more than a half century, died on May 28, 2023, after some years of gradually declining health. 

Owen held joint appointments at Harvard (Professor of Astronomy and of History of Science) and at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (astrophysicist), and he kept busy in his research, writing, and lecturing well into his retirement years, until shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Owen was a walking astronomy encyclopedia and a prolific writer of books, invited conference papers, and articles for professional journals.

Read More: Sky & Telescope

 

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Firouz Naderi, NASA official who put rovers on Mars, dies at 77

The missions he led vastly expanded human understanding of the Red Planet and made him a hero to fellow Iranian Americans

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Firouz Naderi, a NASA official who oversaw the successful landing of two exploration rovers on Mars, a feat that vastly expanded human understanding of the Red Planet and made him a hero to fellow Iranian Americans, died June 9 at 77.

 

His death was announced on his social media pages. Dr. Naderi posted on Facebook last month that he had suffered a fall that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Other details were not immediately available.

 

Dr. Naderi, who was trained as an electrical engineer, left his native Iran in the wake of the Islamic revolution of 1979 and was hired later that year by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.

Read More: The Washington Post

 

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Cosmonaut Alexander Viktorenko, flew to Mir four times, dies at 76

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August 10, 2023 — Russian cosmonaut Alexander Viktorenko, whose four flights into Earth orbit included the first test of a "space motorcycle" and first launch after the fall of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 76.

The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City confirmed Viktorenko's death in a statement released on Thursday (Aug. 10).

"The whole life of Alexander Stepanovich was devoted to astronautics. He made an invaluable contribution to the history of space exploration," the statement read.

Selected in 1978 to join the Soviet corps, Viktorenko's cosmonaut career spanned 19 years, including commanding four missions to the Mir space station.

Read More: collectSpace

 

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Karol 'Bo' Bobko, astronaut who flew 3 shuttle missions, dies at 85

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August 18, 2023 — Karol "Bo" Bobko, who was the only NASA astronaut to fly on the first launch of two space shuttle orbiters, has died at the age of 85.

Bobko's death on Thursday (Aug. 17) was confirmed by the Association of Space Explorers, a professional organization for the world's astronauts and cosmonauts. A distinguished member, Bobko previously served as president of the U.S. chapter of the association.

Read More: collectSpace

 

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Trailblazer in Space Science leaves a remarkable legacy

Dr Lee-Anne McKinnell: 30 December 1970 – 19 August 2023

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Dr Lee-Anne McKinnell, Managing Director of the South African National Space Agency’s Space Science Programme and Sandbaai resident, passed away on Saturday 19 August 2023 after a short illness.

Lee-Anne was born in Vereeniging in 1970 and grew up in Witpoortjie, close to Krugersdorp. She was the first female learner to complete a technical matric at the John Orr Engineering School of Specialisation.

Her father, an Electrical Engineer wanted her to follow in his footsteps, however, she developed a passion for physics. True to her nature, she decided to satisfy both and enrolled in a BSC Physics and Electronics course.

Read More: SANSA

 

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Canadian-French astrophysicist Hubert Reeves dies aged 91

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Canadian-French astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, who was renowned for his work popularizing space science, died Friday aged 91, his son said in a post on Facebook.

"My whole family joins me in the pain of having to announce that our dear father has gone to join the stars," Benoit Reeves said.

The history of the universe was Reeves' life passion—he famously said that "to look far is to look early," evoking the concept of space-time—and he was also an ardent defender of planet Earth.

Read More: phys.org

 

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Ken Mattingly, who launched to the moon on Apollo 16, dies at 87

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November 2, 2023 — For the record, Ken Mattingly never did get the German measles.

The former NASA astronaut, who in 1970 was pulled from the Apollo 13 crew due to being exposed to the Rubella virus, died on Tuesday (Oct. 31) at the age of 87. Mattingly's death was confirmed by NASA.

"NASA astronaut TK Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement released Thursday. "As a leader in exploratory missions, TK will be remembered for braving the unknown for the sake of our country's future.

Read More: ➡️ collectSpace

 

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Frank Borman, astronaut who led first flight to the moon, dies at 95

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November 9, 2023— Former NASA astronaut Frank Borman, who in 1968 led the first mission to fly humans to the moon, has died at the age of 95.

Borman's death on Tuesday (Nov. 7) was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

A member of NASA's second class of astronauts, Borman lifted off twice into space. On his second mission, Apollo 8, he commanded the first crew to orbit the moon.

Read More: ➡️ collectSpace

 

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Steve Jurczyk, Former NASA Leader, Passes Away

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Steve Jurczyk, whose 32-year NASA career saw him rise to the very top of agency leadership, died on Thanksgiving Day from pancreatic cancer. He was 61.

 

Steve-Jurczyk-Credit-NASA-240x300.jpg Stephen Jurczyk, April 16, 2015. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky}

Jurczyk became NASA’s top civil servant, Associate Administrator, in 2018 after serving as the head of the Space Technology Mission Directorate and Director of Langley Research Center before that.

Read More: ➡️ SpacePolicyOnline.com

 

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NASA Remembers Trailblazing Astronaut, Scientist Mary Cleave

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NASA Astronaut Mary L. Cleave. April 8, 1985
NASA

Retired NASA astronaut Mary Cleave, a veteran of two NASA spaceflights, died Nov. 27. She was 76. A scientist with training in civil and environmental engineering, as well as biological sciences and microbial ecology, Cleave was the first woman to serve as an associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

Born in Southampton, New York, Cleave received a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1969, and Master of Science in microbial ecology and a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering, both from Utah State University, Logan, in 1975 and 1979, respectively.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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NASA Honors Life of Former Administrator, Astronaut Richard Truly

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Former NASA Administrator and astronaut, Richard Truly.
NASA

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on former NASA Administrator and astronaut Richard Truly, who passed away Feb. 27, 2024, at his home in Genesee, Colorado, at the age of 86.

“NASA is the place it is today because of people of character, vision, and a spirit of service – people like the great man we lost Feb. 27, former NASA administrator, associate administrator, and astronaut Richard Truly.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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NASA Administrator Pays Tribute to Space Pioneer Thomas Stafford

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(1966) — Portrait of astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, wearing his spacesuit.
Credits: NASA

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday’s passing of Thomas Stafford, a lifelong space exploration advocate, former NASA astronaut, and U.S. Air Force general: 

“Today, General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens, which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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