Wubbo Ockels

Infobox Astronaut
name =Wubbo Ockels

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type = ESA Astronaut
nationality =Dutch
date_birth =March 28, 1946
place_birth =Almelo, The Netherlands
occupation =Physicist
selection =1978 ESA Group
time =7d 00h 44m
mission =STS-61-A
insignia =|

Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch physicist and astronaut. In 1985 he participated in a flight of the space shuttle, making him the first and only Dutch citizen in space, until the flight of Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers to the International Space Station in 2004. He is not the first Dutch-born astronaut, because he is preceded by the naturalized American Lodewijk van den Berg. Ockels is currently professor of "Aerospace for Sustainable Engineering and Technology" at the Delft University of Technology.

Ockels was born March 28, 1946, in Almelo but considers Groningen to be his hometown. He received a Ph.D. degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Groningen in 1978. His M.Sc. thesis was based on experimental work at the Nuclear Physics Accelerator Institute (K.V.I.) in Groningen in 1973.

From 1973 to 1978, Ockels performed experimental investigations at the Nuclear Physics Accelerator Institute in Groningen. His work concerned the gamma-ray decay of nuclear systems directly after formation and the development of a data-handling system involving design of electronics and programming of real-time software. He also contributed to the design and construction of position-sensitive charged particle detectors. While at the K.V.I. Institute, Ockels supervised the practical work of first-year physics students at the University of Groningen.

Challenger mission

In 1978, he was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of three European payload specialists to train for the Spacelab 1 mission. In May 1980, under agreement between ESA and NASA, Ockels and Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier were selected to begin the basic astronaut training for mission specialist together with the NASA astronaut candidates at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Ockels successfully completed this training in August 1981. He rejoined the Spacelab 1 crew for training as a back-up payload specialist to operate experiments aboard Spacelab 1. This mission of a reusable, scientific research facility built by the European Space Agency (ESA) took place aboard the Space Shuttle in November 1983. Spacelab 1 was a joint NASA/ESA mission. Having served his role as back-up payload specialist for German astronaut Ulf Merbold, he took his place in Mission Control in Houston as the primary communicator between the astronauts working in Spacelab and the Mission Management Team in Houston.

Ockels flew as a payload specialist on the crew of STS-61A Challenger (October 30 to November 6, 1985). STS-61A was the West German D-1 Spacelab mission. It was the first to carry eight crew members, (five Americans, two Germans and Ockels); the largest to fly in space; and was also the first in which payload activities were controlled from outside the United States: from the DLR control center in Germany. More than 75 scientific experiments were completed in the areas of physiological sciences, materials science, biology, and navigation. At mission conclusion Ockels had traveled 2.5 million miles in 110 Earth orbits, and logged over 168 hours in space.

A small planetoid is named after Wubbo Ockels by the International Astronomical Union. The planetoid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The object's full name is 9496 Ockels.

Ockels is a member of the American Physical Society and the European Physical Society. From 1999 to 2003, he was head of ESA's Office for Educational Projects Outreach Activities.

Ockels is married and has two children.

In August 2005, Ockels had a severe heart attack which required his hospitalization. He has recovered well from his illness and has resumed his work at the Delft University of Technology. [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=23114&name=Former+Dutch+astronaut+in+hospital]

cientific career

In 1992, Ockels was appointed part-time professor Aerospace Engineering (in particular, Aerospace for Sustainable Engineering and Technology) at the Delft University of Technology, and promoted to full-time professor in September 2003. In this function, he has overseen the Nuna projects. He has also proposed the development of a Superbus, a new method of high speed (250 km/hour) public transportation by road. The public transportation company Connexxion is the first company to invest in the development of this Superbus. [http://www.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=30380163-f32c-4c33-a943-8512116edd8a&lang=nl] (news available in Dutch only).

Currently Wubbo Ockels is involved in his "LadderMill" sustainable energy program. A Laddermill is a kind of windmill consisting of a "ladder" of "kites". As quoted from his website: [http://www.ockels.nl/]

The LadderMill is the response to the challenge for exploiting the gigantic energy source contained in the airspace up to high altitudes of 10 km. The concept has been developed with the aim to convert wind energy at altitude in electricity on the ground in an environmental and cost effective manner.

ee also

References

*"Portions of this article are based on public domain text from [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ockels-wj.html NASA] ."
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/ockels_wubbo.htm Spacefacts biography of Wubbo Ockels]

External links

*nl icon [http://www.wubboockelsprijs.nl/ Wubbo Ockels prize]