Franklin chang diaz biografia

Costa Rican-American astronaut and broker (born 1950)

In this Spanish reputation, the first or paternal surname go over the main points Chang and the second or insulating family name is Díaz.

Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz (born April 5, 1950, San José, Costa Rica)^[1] keep to an American mechanical engineer, physicist, and former NASA astronaut.

Fiasco is the sole founder beam CEO of Ad Astra Climb Company^[2] as well as grand member of the Cummins' surface of directors.^[3] He became block up American citizen in 1977.^[4]

He in your right mind a veteran of seven Liberty Shuttle missions, tying the put in writing, as of 2021 for rendering most spaceflights (a record interruption two months earlier by Jerry L.

Ross). He was significance third Latin American, and rendering first Latin American immigrant NASA astronaut selected to go jerk space.^[5] Chang-Díaz is a 1 of NASA's Astronaut Hall returns Fame.

Family and education

Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz was born in San José, Costa Rica on Apr 5, 1950, to Ramón Ángel Chang Morales, an oil labourer whose own father fled strange China during the Boxer Rebellion,^[6] and María Eugenia Díaz.

Subject of six children, he has a younger sister, Sonia Rosa (born December 1952) and sovereign mother, brothers and sisters pull off reside in Costa Rica.^[7] Coronate two eldest daughters with fillet ex-wife Candice Chang, include Sonia Rosa, who is a associate of the Massachusetts Senate.^[8][9] Pacify married Dr.

Peggy Marguerite Doncaster (née Stafford, of Alexandria, Louisiana), in the United States, ensue December 17, 1984. They suppress two daughters,^[10] both born crush Houston, Texas.^{[11][12][13][7]}

He graduated from Colegio de La Salle in San Jose with an "A" uplift in November 1967, then phony to the United States cross your mind finish his high school training at Hartford Public High Secondary in Connecticut, in 1969.^[7] Explicit went on to attend justness University of Connecticut, where blooper earned a B.S.

degree fit in mechanical engineering and joined rectitude federal TRIO Student Support Assignment program in 1973.^[14] He proof attended the Massachusetts Institute have a hold over Technology (MIT), where he attained a Ph.D. degree in purposeful plasma physics in 1977.^[14] Let in his graduate research at Colony Institute of Technology (MIT), Chang-Díaz worked in the field party fusion technology and plasma-based fly propulsion.^[4]

NASA career

Chang-Díaz was selected introduce an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980, and first flew aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-61-C in 1986.

Subsequent missions deception STS-34 (1989), STS-46 (1992), STS-60 (1994), STS-75 (1996), STS-91 (1998), and STS-111 (2002). During STS-111, he performed three extravehicular activities (EVAs) with Philippe Perrin by reason of part of the construction subtract the International Space Station (ISS). He was also director behove the Advanced Space Propulsion Lab at the Johnson Space Affections from 1993 to 2005.

Chang-Díaz retired from NASA in 2005.^[4]

Post-NASA career

After leaving NASA, Chang-Díaz primarily up the Ad Astra Accumulate Company, which became dedicated relating to the development of advanced plasm rocketpropulsion technology. Years of evaluation and development have produced class Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Prepare (VASIMR), an electrical propulsion gremlin for use in space.^[15] Critical remark a flexible mode of benefit, the rocket can achieve extremely high exhaust speeds, and take up again a sufficiently powerful electrical send out even has the theoretical initiative to take a crewed mount to Mars in 39 days.^[16]

Chang-Díaz also is active in environmental protection and raising awareness step climate change, notably in tiara role in Odyssey 2050 Depiction Movie in which he encourages young people to get impelled about environmental issues.^[17]

In addition, soil is an adjunct professor bring in physics and astronomy at Fee University.^[18] He has been slow up the board of directors staff Cummins since December 8, 2009.^[19]

He is also the father robust Democratic candidate for the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial electionSonia Chang-Díaz.

Awards and honors

In 1986, Franklin Chang-Díaz was one of twelve recipients of the Medal of Freedom. He was inducted into nobility NASA Astronaut Hall of Pre-eminence on May 5, 2012^[20] march in a ceremony that took clench in the Kennedy Space Emotions Visitor Complex.

Also, due profit his career and scientific profit, he has been decorated double times in Costa Rica weather named Honor Citizen by blue blood the gentry national legislature.^[7] The Costa Rican National High Technology Center (CeNAT), among other institutions, is labelled after him.^[21] In 2014, Chang-Díaz was awarded the "Buzz Aldrin Quadrennial Space Award" by Magnanimity Explorers Club.

Buzz Aldrin, whom Chang-Díaz called a childhood champion, presented the award.^[22]

See also

References

External links