Lodewijk van den Berg, who studied crystal progress aboard the space shuttle Challenger as the primary Dutch-born astronaut, has died on the age of 90.
Van den Berg’s death on Sunday (Oct. 16) (opens in new tab) was reported online (opens in new tab) by the Affiliation of House Explorers, the skilled group for astronauts and cosmonauts.
Van den Berg didn’t got down to be an astronaut. Then a 53-year-old chemical engineer, his path into space got here on account of NASA inviting business and analysis organizations to fly experiments aboard the space shuttle. Particularly, NASA was making ready to fly the Vapor Crystal Progress System, a payload designed by van den Berg and his colleagues at EG&G Vitality Measurements of Goleta, California, to advance the preparation of crystalline supplies.
The 137-hour experiment, which concerned the expansion of a mercuric iodide crystal, required that somebody monitor the crystal’s progress from on board the shuttle.
“NASA determined sooner or later that it was less expensive to coach a scientist [who] is aware of the ins and outs of crystal progress to grow to be an astronaut then it’s to take an astronaut and attempt to practice that individual in all of the classical science and so forth,” stated van den Berg in a 2011 TEDx Talk (opens in new tab) delivered within the western Netherlands metropolis of Delft.
Associated: NASA’s space shuttle program in pictures
NASA solicited EG&G for a listing of candidates to fly with the experiment. Considerably as a joke, the lab’s chief added van den Berg to the record.
“NASA comes and says, ‘Are you curious about doing that?’ And at first, you say, ‘Oh, why not?’ Let me put in my hat in with the group that they’re going to choose from [but] I’m so outdated and I’ve dangerous eyes and so with this or the primary choice step, I am out,” stated van den Berg. “At the least it makes impression on NASA that I am .”
Solely van den Berg was not eradicated. Even after present process a really thorough bodily examination, he was nonetheless within the working and finally grew to become NASA’s prime option to fly as payload specialist.
On April 29, 1985, van den Berg lifted off as a member of the STS-51B crew flying on the space shuttle Challenger. The flight marked the primary launch of a completely operational Spacelab science module as supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the seven-person crew break up into two shifts to work across the clock.
Van den Berg was a member of the “Silver” crew, working alongside mission specialist Norm Thagard and pilot Fred Gregory. The “Gold” crew, who took over as van den Berg and his crew mates slept, included mission specialists Don Lind (opens in new tab) and Bill Thornton (opens in new tab), payload specialist Taylor Wang and commander Bob Overmyer.
Wanting to see the consequences that microgravity had on crystal progress, van den Berg was in a position to put apart no matter considerations he had of launching on the shuttle.
“You get seated on high of a giant rocket with about two and a half million kilograms [5.5 million lbs] of excessive explosives and you then flip round and also you inform the folks on the bottom, ‘Hearth it up,'” he informed the viewers in Delft. “How come that such an irrational choice, which anyone of their proper thoughts would say you by no means need to do one thing like that, how do you continue to say, sure, I wish to try this?”
“The want to be collaborating on this overrides the step that claims I might lose my life or no matter else, possibly a finger,” he stated with fun.
Van den Berg’s work on Spacelab centered on the expansion of a mercuric iodide crystal, which on Earth is used within the fabrication of sensors to detect X-ray and gamma ray radiation for medical purposes, the protection trade and for the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company. After studying the space-grown crystal (opens in new tab), van den Berg discovered that its stability and structural high quality was superior to ground-based crystals.
STS-51B was van den Berg’s solely mission. Touchdown at Edwards Air Pressure Base in California on Could 6, 1985, he and his crewmates logged 7 days and eight minutes in space whereas finishing 110 Earth orbits.
Van den Berg was born on March 24, 1932, in Sluiskil, Netherlands. He acquired his grasp of science in chemical engineering from Delft College of Know-how in 1961. He then attended the College of Delaware, the place he earned a grasp of science in utilized science in 1972 and a doctorate in utilized science in 1975.
After incomes his Ph.D., van den Berg joined EG&G. As a protection contractor for the U.S. authorities, the corporate required van den Berg grow to be a naturalized U.S. citizen. (Therefore, the primary Dutch citizen to fly into space was Wubbo Ockels, who launched six months after van den Berg.)
Following his return to Earth, van den Berg resumed his work at EG&G, turning into the lead for its materials science division. Later, he moved to Florida to grow to be the chief scientist at Constellation Know-how, persevering with his work in rising crystals.
Van den Berg’s expertise in space was the main focus of “The ‘Forgotten Astronaut'” (De ‘Vergeten Astronaut’), a brief documentary launched in 2004.
Lodewijk School, a college in Terneuzen, The Netherlands, is called in his honor. In 2007, van den Berg additionally grew to become the namesake for a primary belt asteroid, 11430 Lodewijkberg, which was first present in 1960.
Van den Berg married Jacqueline Marvel in 1968. Collectively they’d two kids, Patricia and Christopher.
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