Netherlands first Astronaut Wubbo Ockels died today at 68 in Anthony van Leeuwenhoek hospital – Amsterdam.
Wubbo Ockels was the first Dutchman in space, he became a national hero in October 1985 when he was launched into space on the Space Shuttle Challenger and stayed in space for 7 days.
Beside astronaut Ockels was a physicist, pilot and professor Aerospace for Sustainable Science and Technology at the faculty Lucht- en Ruimtevaart of the Technical University Delft (Netherlands). From 1986 he worked at the spaceflight institute ESA/ESTEC in Noordwijk (NL.)
Ockels was also an ambassador for sustainability in transport, developing the Superbus (250 kpH public transport) and a state of the art sail ship ‘The Ecolution’
Wubbo Ockels died by an aggressive form of Kidney Cancer.
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