Wubbo Ockels

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Wubbo Ockels
Wubbo Ockels
Country: Netherlands
Organization: ESA
selected on May 18, 1978
Calls: 1 space flight
Begin: October 30, 1985
Landing: November 6, 1985
Time in space: 7d 0h 44min
retired on 1986
Space flights

Wubbo Johannes Ockels (born March 28, 1946 in Almelo , Netherlands ; † May 18, 2014 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch physicist and astronaut . He was the first Dutch citizen in space after the Dutch-born Lodewijk van den Berg had already launched into space six months earlier . However, he was already a US citizen at the time of his space flight.

Life

Ockels studied physics and mathematics and received his master's degree in 1973 . From 1973 to 1978 Ockels devoted himself to research on elementary particles at the particle accelerator of the Institute for Nuclear Physics (KVI) at the University of Groningen, and in 1978 earned a doctorate in physics and mathematics .

Wubbo Ockels (2008)

The European Space Agency (ESA) was looking for applicants to set up its first European astronaut corps . The aspirants were given the prospect of being able to conduct research in the space laboratory built by ESA on board the American space shuttle . A total of around 2,000 scientists submitted their documents, with each of the twelve ESA member countries only having to propose one applicant. Of these twelve people, four candidates were selected in December 1977, of which only three remained six months later: in addition to Ockels, the Swiss Claude Nicollier and Ulf Merbold from the Federal Republic of Germany. The Italian Franco Malerba was no longer considered. All three ESA astronauts prepared together to take part in the first Spacelab flight, until Merbold was finally chosen in autumn 1982. Under the abbreviation STS-9 / Spacelab-1, the shuttle flight was operated a year later under the command of John Young , with Merbold being the first non-US citizen on a space shuttle. In the same year, Ockels was selected as a participant in the D1 mission , a joint project between NASA and ESA , and flew into space on October 30, 1985 with the Space Shuttle Challenger as part of the STS-61-A mission for seven days .

From 1992 Ockels was professor of aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Delft . There he developed, for example, towing kites that should be used to generate energy. Ockels was also an associate professor at the Institute for Energy and Environment (IVEM) at the University of Groningen .

At ESA he headed the office for educational projects and in this role was also responsible for the annual parabolic flight missions for students. He also worked as a consultant for the Nuon student team, which has repeatedly won the World Solar Challenge .

Ockels had already had a kidney tumor removed in 2008, and renal cell carcinoma was diagnosed again in May 2013 . Wubbo Ockels succumbed to the disease on May 18, 2014 in a hospital in Amsterdam.

Honors

Ockels was an officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau and holder of the Order of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The asteroid (9496) Ockels is named after him.

In 2013, Ockels received the Brandaris Prize for Sustainability, which has been awarded under the name Wubbo Ockels Brandaris Prijs since his death .

See also

Web links

Commons : Wubbo Ockels  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wubbo Ockels (1946-2014). In: De Volkskrant. May 19, 2014, accessed April 15, 2019 (Dutch).
  2. ^ Aerospace for Sustainable Engineering and Technology. tudelft.nl, archived from the original on September 24, 2005 (English). ;See also: Benjamin Dürr: Flying power plants should harvest wind energy. In: Spiegel online. May 30, 2011, accessed April 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Nuna II breaks all records at the World Solar Challenge! ESA, October 24, 2003, accessed April 15, 2019 .
  4. ^ Dossier: Wubbo Ockels. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, December 3, 2010, archived from the original on May 18, 2014 ; Retrieved May 18, 2014 (Dutch).
  5. ↑ First Wubbo Ockels Brandaris Prijs uitgereikt. rtvnoord.nl, September 26, 2014, accessed April 15, 2019 (Dutch). }
  6. ↑ Wubbo Ockels's prices. Springtij, accessed April 15, 2019 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Ockels, Wubbo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ockels, Wubbo Johannes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch physicist and spaceman
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Almelo , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2014
Place of death Amsterdam , Netherlands