Remembering Astronaut Lodewijk van den Berg (1932-2022)

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.

Happy birthday, Dutch astronaut Lodewijk van den Berg!

Lodewijk van den Berg, born March 24, 1932 in the Netherlands, went into space aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) as payload specialist in April-May 1985.  Although he was born in the Netherlands, he had become an American citizen by the time he went into space.  

Challenger (STS-51-B) launched 1985

STS-51-B crew

First row (L-R): Robert Overmyer, Frederick Gregory

Back row (L-R): Don Lind, Taylor Wang, Norman Thagard, William Thornton, Lodewijk van den Berg

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Challenger, launched April 29, 1985, was the seventh flight of Challenger.  Its crew consisted of Commander Robert Overmyer, Pilot Frederick Gregory, Don Lind, Norman Thagard, William Thornton, Lodewijk van den Berg, and Taylor Wang.

It was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab.  Two squirrel monkeys and 24 rats in special cages accompanied the astronauts in space.

They returned to Earth May 6.

Happy birthday, Dutch astronaut André Kuipers

Andre Kuipers, born October 5, 1958 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is the second Dutch citizen and the third Dutch-born astronaut in space.  The first Dutch-born astronaut, Lodewijk van den Berg was born in Zeeland but had become a U.S. citizen when he flew on the Space Shuttle, so was no longer a Dutch citizen. 

Kuipers was accepted into the ESA Astronaut Corps in 1998.  His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-4 in April 2004 to the International Space Station.  He conducted 21 experiments in just 11 days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3.

He returned to space December 2011 aboard Soyuz TMA-03M to the ISS as the Flight Engineer and Medical Crew Officer.  He remained until July 1, 2012 when he returned to Earth.