Latinx Month runs from September fifteenth by October fifteenth, and to have fun, we’re spotlighting former UConn groundbreaker, Franklin Chang-Díaz!
Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz was born April 5, 1950, in San José, Costa Rica, and he moved to the US of America in 1968, graduating from Hartford Public Excessive Faculty in Connecticut. He then attended the College of Connecticut, the place he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1973. Dr. Chang-Díaz went on to earn his Ph.D. in Utilized Plasma Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how, MIT, in 1977, the identical 12 months he was granted US citizenship.
In 1980, Dr. Chang-Díaz was chosen by NASA as an astronaut candidate, and in 1986 he made his first flight into area, on the STS-61-C mission, making him the primary astronaut from NASA Latin American immigrant to enter area. . That very same 12 months, he acquired a Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Chang-Díaz was additionally concerned within the development of the Worldwide House Station, ISS. He retired from NASA in 2005, and as of 2021 has tied for essentially the most spaceflights of any NASA astronaut, having accomplished seven spaceflights all through his profession at The NASA.
After retiring from NASA, Dr. Chang-Díaz based the Advert Astra Rocket Firm in 2005, of which he’s the present President and CEO. The Advert Astra Rocket Firm is targeted on the event of superior plasma rocket propulsion know-how, based mostly on Dr. Chang-Díaz’s idea of the Variable Particular Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, VASIMR, which stemmed from his doctoral analysis on fusion and plasma-based rocket propulsion at MIT. They’re at the moment within the closing phases of testing a VASIMR rocket engine on Earth, with plans for his or her closing check earlier than testing the rocket in area in place for 2023. Their present focus is a multi-month check on the Worldwide House Station. The Advert Astra Rocket Firm can be at the moment working to develop carbon-free power sources, reflecting Dr. Chang-Díaz’s ardour for activism and environmental conservation.
Dr. Chang-Díaz has acquired quite a few awards for his work, in addition to a number of technological establishments in his residence nation of Costa Rica named after him, together with the Nationwide Heart of Excessive Know-how of Costa Rica. He was inducted into the NASA Corridor of Fame on Might 5, 2012, and in 2014 acquired the Buzz Aldrin Quadrennial House Award from the Explorers Membership, an expert society that promotes scientific exploration and subject examine. .
The award was introduced to Dr. Chang-Díaz by Buzz Aldrin himself, whom Dr. Chang-Díaz recognized to him as a childhood hero.
Dr. Chang-Díaz is a pioneer, entrepreneur and innovator who will reside in historical past for his contributions to area exploration and engineering. He’s a very spectacular UConn alumnus!
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franklin-Chang-Diaz
https://www.nasa.gov/websites/default/information/atoms/information/chang-diaz_franklin_0.pdf
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/diaz.html
https://www.adastrarocket.com/
Picture supply: Official NASA Picture and Video Library (https://pictures.nasa.gov/details-S97-06573)