Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz to be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame

Filed Under: EARTH News
Date: January 27th, 2012
It was announced this week that EARTH University Board member Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz will be inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame later this year. Dr. Chang-Díaz is a member of both EARTH’s Board of Directors and the President’s Advisory Board and has been involved with our Institution for many years.
 
In 2002, he tied the record with a fellow astronaut for the most missions into space. 
Dr. Chang-Díaz has also invented the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR® patented in 2002) and other advanced propulsion technologies.
 
He retired from the NASA program in 2005 after 25 years of service. Nevertheless, he has continued his research in the plasma physics field with the creation of his own spaceflight engineering laboratory, Ad Astra Company, with locations in both Houston, Texas and at our La Flor campus in the Guanacaste province.
 
Dr. Chang-Díaz´s official induction ceremony will take place on May 5th of this year.
You can read more about the announcement here: http://www.space.com/14351-space-shuttle-astronauts-hall-fame.html