FRANKLIN CHANG-DìAZ
Name: Franklin Ramon Chang-Diaz
Born: 5 April 1950
Franklin Ramon Chang-Diaz, Sc.D. (born 5 April 1950) is a Costa Rican-American
physicist and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven space shuttle
missions, making him the record holder for most spaceflights by an astronaut (a
record he shares with Jerry L. Ross). He is one of the first American citizens
of Latin American descent to go into space.
Chang-Diaz was born in San Jose, Costa Rica to a father of Chinese and Spanish
descent and a Spanish Costa Rican mother (both Costa Rican-born) and moved to
the United States to finish his high school education. He earned a BS degree in
mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1973, and a Sc.D.
in applied plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in 1977. For his graduate research at MIT, Chang-Diaz worked in the field of
fusion technology and plasma-based rocket propulsion.
Chang-Diaz was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980 and first flew
aboard STS-61-C in 1986. Subsequent missions included STS-34 (1989), STS-46 (1992),
STS-60 (1994), STS-75 (1996), STS-91 (1998), and STS-111 (2002). During STS-111,
he performed three EVAs with Philippe Perrin as part of the construction of the
International Space Station. He was also director of the Advanced Space
Propulsion Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center from 1993 to 2005. Chang-Diaz
retired from NASA in 2005.
Name: Franklin Ramon Chang-Diaz
Born: 5 April 1950
Franklin Ramon Chang-Diaz, Sc.D. (born 5 April 1950) is a Costa Rican-American
physicist and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven space shuttle
missions, making him the record holder for most spaceflights by an astronaut (a
record he shares with Jerry L. Ross). He is one of the first American citizens
of Latin American descent to go into space.
Chang-Diaz was born in San Jose, Costa Rica to a father of Chinese and Spanish
descent and a Spanish Costa Rican mother (both Costa Rican-born) and moved to
the United States to finish his high school education. He earned a BS degree in
mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1973, and a Sc.D.
in applied plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in 1977. For his graduate research at MIT, Chang-Diaz worked in the field of
fusion technology and plasma-based rocket propulsion.
Chang-Diaz was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980 and first flew
aboard STS-61-C in 1986. Subsequent missions included STS-34 (1989), STS-46 (1992),
STS-60 (1994), STS-75 (1996), STS-91 (1998), and STS-111 (2002). During STS-111,
he performed three EVAs with Philippe Perrin as part of the construction of the
International Space Station. He was also director of the Advanced Space
Propulsion Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center from 1993 to 2005. Chang-Diaz
retired from NASA in 2005.