Karl Gordon Henize
- STS -51 F ( 1985)
Karl Gordon Henize ( born October 17, 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, † October 5, 1993 on Mount Everest, Nepal ) was an American astronaut.
Henize in 1947 received a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1948 and a master's degree in astronomy from the University of Virginia while he conducted research at the McCormick Observatory. In 1954 he received from the University of Michigan an honorary doctorate in astronomy.
From 1948 to 1951, Henize astronomer on behalf of the Observatory of the University of Michigan at the Lamont - Hussey Observatory in Bloemfontein in South Africa. In 1954 he came to the Mount Wilson Observatory in California, and from 1956 to 1959 he was at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. From 1959 taught Henize Astronomy at Northwestern University. Besides, he also pursued his astronomical research, including at Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia.
Henize worked with various ultraviolet optical telescopes that were used during the Gemini program and on the space station Skylab. He has chaired several working groups of NASA and the IAU for the development of telescopes, including the Spacelab.
Astronauts activity
Henize was selected by NASA as a science astronaut in August 1967. During his training he completed a 53 -week flight training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. He was a member of the support team for the missions Apollo 15, Skylab 2, 3 and 4
STS -51- F
On July 29, 1985 Henize started as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger on the Spacelab 2 mission (STS -51 -F) into space. It was the first flight of the European space laboratory module without pressure - the experiments ( mainly in the disciplines of astronomy and astrophysics ) had been installed on three pallets in the cargo area of the Challenger. The crew worked in two shifts to maximize the utilization of the experiments.
Death
Karl Henize died on 5 October 1993 at the age of 66 years while attempting to climb the north face of Mount Everest. The cause of death was specified altitude pulmonary edema. He left behind his wife and four children.