Karl Gordon Henize

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Karl Gordon Henize bigraphy, stories - American astronomer

Karl Gordon Henize : biography

October 17, 1926 – October 5, 1993

Karl Gordon Henize[p], Ph.D. (17 October 1926 – 5 October 1993) was an astronomer, NASA astronaut, space scientist, and professor at Northwestern University. He was stationed at several observatories around the world, including McCormick Observatory, Lamont-Hussey Observatory (South Africa), Mount Wilson Observatory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Mount Stromlo Observatory (Australia). He was in the astronaut support crew for Apollo 15 and Skylab 2/3/4. As a mission specialist on the Spacelab-2 mission (STS-51-F), he flew on Space Shuttle Challenger in July/August 1985. He was awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1974. Nebula Henize 206 was first catalogued in the early 1950s by Dr. Henize.

He died in 1993, during a Mount Everest expedition. The purpose of this expedition was for NASA to test a meter called a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) at different altitudes (17,000 ft, 19,000 ft and 21,000 ft) as with plans for longer duration space missions it was important to know how people’s bodies would be affected, including the way bodily tissues behaved when struck by radiation.Tom Read, Freefall, Page 224 (Little Brown, Edition 1, 1998). ISBN 0-316-64303-3. Having reached Advanced Base Camp at 21,300 feet, the expedition was cut short following Karl’s death, who died of high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) on October 5, 1993.Tom Read, Freefall, Pages 224-235 (Little Brown, Edition 1, 1998). ISBN 0-316-64303-3.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-karl-henize-1512511.html – The Independent Newspaper reporting on the Death of Karl Heinze, 23 October 1993http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/releases/1993_1995/93-077.html – NASA: Press Release: Former Astronaut Karl Henize dies on Mt. Everest Expedition, 8 October 1993 Although the expedition was marred by the death of Karl the TEPC meter had done its job, and when it was later analysed at NASA Headquarters, an increment was added to the human physiology database.http://kalpagroup.com/kalpa_genesis.html – "Kalpa Group – Genesis"

Special honors

He was presented the Robert Gordon Memorial Award for 1968 and was a recipient of NASA Group Achievement Awards in 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978. He was also awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1974.

Organizations

Henize was a member of the American Astronomical Society; the Royal Astronomical Society; the Astronomical Society of the Pacific; the International Astronomical Union; and Phi Beta Kappa.

NASA experience

The crew assigned to the STS-51F mission included (kneeling left to right) [[Gordon Fullerton, commander; and Roy D. Bridges, pilot. Standing, left to right, are mission specialists Anthony W. England, Karl G. Henize, and F. Story Musgrave; and payload specialists Loren W. Acton, and John-David F. Bartoe.]] Henize was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967. He completed the initial academic training and the 53-week jet pilot training program at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He was a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 15 mission and for the Skylab 2, 3, and 4 missions. He was mission specialist for the ASSESS-2 spacelab simulation mission in 1977. He logged 2,300 hours flying time in jet aircraft.

Henize was a mission specialist on the Spacelab-2 mission (STS-51-F) which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 29, 1985. He was accompanied by Col. Gordon Fullerton (spacecraft commander), Col. Roy D. Bridges (pilot), fellow mission specialists Dr. Anthony W. England and Dr. F. Story Musgrave, as well as two payload specialists, Dr. Loren Acton and Dr. John-David Bartoe.

This mission was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first mission to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments, of which 7 were in the field of astronomy and solar physics, 3 were for studies of the Earth’s ionosphere, 2 were life science experiments, and 1 studied the properties of superfluid helium. Henize’s responsibilities included testing and operating the IPS, operating the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), maintaining the Spacelab systems, and operating several of the experiments.