Our heroes seem to be dropping all around us. First Angela Lansbury, then Apollo astronaut James McDivitt, and now, first Dutch-born astronaut Lodewijk van den Berg passed away October 16 at the age of 90. He was born March 24, 1932 in the Netherlands, but was a naturalized American citizen when he went into space and no longer a Dutch citizen.
He went into space aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) in April-May 1985 as a payload specialist. He was responsible for the Vapor Crystal Growth System experiment. After returning to Earth, he continued work on crystal growth, even when he was 72.
An asteroid was named after him and is known as 11430 Lodewijkberg. He passed away in Florida, but no cause of death has been cited.
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