Franklin Chang-Díaz
Costa Rican-born plasma physicist who flew seven Space Shuttle missions and now builds plasma rockets.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Franklin Chang-Díaz · see source
Ad Astra Rocket Company was founded by him, and he serves as its CEO; additionally, he sits on the board of directors for Cummins.[1]
Life and work
He earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and a Ph.D. in applied plasma physics from MIT in 1977.[2][3] He retired from NASA in 2005 and founded Ad Astra Rocket Company to develop plasma rocket propulsion.[4][5] In November 1967, Chang-Díaz earned an "A" grade upon graduating from Colegio de La Salle in San Jose, and after relocating to the United States, he completed his high school education at Hartford Public High School in Connecticut in 1969.[2] 1977 marked the year he obtained U.S. citizenship.[1]
At Rice University, he serves as an adjunct professor in physics and astronomy, and his membership on the Cummins board began on December 8, 2009.[6]
What the cited sources add
The same source records his seven missions with total spaceflight duration of 66 days, 18 hours, and 15 minutes.[3] It notes his hobbies include music, glider planes, soccer, scuba-diving, hunting, and hiking.[3] A board of directors profile states he invented the VASIMR rocket and directed NASA's Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory from 1994 to 2005.[7] The 2012 inductees were the first space shuttle astronauts to be honored after the program concluded.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Franklin Chang-Díaz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Board of Directors"; "Board of Directors"; "Franklin Chang-Diaz: Astronaut and Rocket Scientist", PBS; "Rocket Scientist (Franklin Chang-Díaz)", PBS, 2009-05-01 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Franklin Chang-Díaz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biographical data: FRANKLIN R. CHANG-DÍAZ (PH.D.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)", NASA, September 2012; Spacefacts Biography of Franklin Chang-Diaz Spacefacts Retrieved July 18, 2011; Spacefacts Biography of Franklin Chang-Diaz Spacefacts Retrieved July 18, 2011; "Franklin Chang-Diaz: Astronaut and Rocket Scientist", PBS; Persaud, "Franklin Chang-Díaz: From Immigrant to Innovator", airandspace.si.edu, 2023-10-13; "Inertial Confinement Fusion", Laboratory for Laser Energetics (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Spacefacts Biography of Franklin Chang-Diaz Spacefacts Retrieved July 18, 2011. facts only, no text reused. spacefacts.de
- Wikipedia, "Franklin Chang-Díaz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Franklin Chang-Diaz: Astronaut and Rocket Scientist", PBS (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Franklin Chang-Díaz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "NASA - Propulsion Systems of the Future", NASA; Billings, "Former astronaut Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz explains how his plasma rocket engine could revolutionize space travel and why we need nuclear power in space", seedmagazine.com, September 29, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Franklin Chang-Díaz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Franklin Chang-Diaz", Faculty Information System; "Cummins.com > News Article", December 8, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Board of Directors". facts only, no text reused. adastrarocket.com
- "Collect Space", Collect Space, May 6, 2012. facts only, no text reused. collectspace.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Franklin Chang-Díaz (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Franklin Chang-Díaz (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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