Curt Michel

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Curtis Michel
NASA astronaut
SelectionNASA Group 4 (1965)
RetirementAugust 18, 1969
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics
InstitutionsRice University
ThesisThe Beta Spectra of the Mass 12 Nuclei (1962)
Doctoral advisorThomas Lauritsen

Frank Curtis "Curt" Michel (June 5, 1934 – February 26, 2015) was an American

NASA astronaut
.

Personal life

Michel was born June 5, 1934, to parents to Frank and Viola Michel. He was married to Bonnie Hausman, a web technical specialist. He had two children, Alice and Jeff with his first wife Beverly, who preceded him in death, and three grandchildren.[1] His hobbies were photography, tennis, handball, and baseball.[2] Michel died at the age of 80 on February 26, 2015.[1] He was buried with full military honors at the Houston National Cemetery.[3]

Education

Michel graduated from

Nobel laureate William Alfred Fowler also served on his committee.[4]

While on the faculty of Rice University, Michel oversaw the dissertations of Jerry Modisette, Robert LaQuey, Robert Manka, Cliff Morris, Michael Pelizzari, Jürgen Krause-Polstorff, James Sokolowski, and Steven Sturner.[5]

Organizations

Michel was a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Geophysical Union, and the American Astronomical Society.[6]

Experience

Michel, seated front left, with NASA Astronaut Group 4

Michel was a junior engineer with the

Perrin Air Force Base in Texas. During his three years of military service, Michel flew F-86D interceptors in the United States and in Europe (England and West Germany).[2] Michel accumulated 1,000 hours flying time with 900 hours in jet aircraft.[2]

Following his tour of active duty in the United States Air Force, Michel was a graduate student and research fellow at the

theoretical astrophysics
for Fowler.

He joined the faculty of

lunar atmosphere.[2]

Michel was selected as a scientist-astronaut in NASA Astronaut Group 4 in June 1965.[8] He resigned from NASA on August 18, 1969[9] without having been assigned to any spaceflight missions. Michel believed that it was his decision to resign (after it became clear that he would not be given a flight assignment) that motivated the scientific community to demand that his fellow scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt be reassigned to Apollo 17 (replacing Joe Engle)[10] after Schmitt's planned mission on Apollo 18 was cancelled.[11]

After his resignation from NASA, Michel returned to teaching and research at Rice, where he also served as chair of the

University of Nagoya as a visiting professor.[6]

Research

Michel's research spanned many disciplines. In 1964, he predicted the existence of spin "optical rotation" due to

heliopause. In 2000, Michel officially retired from Rice but he continued to be active in research until his death in 2015.[5]

Books

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Professor emeritus Curt Michel dies". Rice University. February 27, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Biographical Data: F. CURTIS MICHEL, NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)" (PDF). NASA. April 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Michel's burial". Legacy. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Michel, F. Curtis (January 1, 1962). Beta spectra of the mass 12 nuclei (Ph.D. thesis). Caltech. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Department History". Rice University. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Curt Michel Biographical Sketch". Rice University. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Vermont Scientist May Be On Early Mission to the Moon". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. Associated Press. June 28, 1965. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Six Young Scientists Become US Astronauts Today at Space Center". Lebanon Daily News. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. UPI. June 29, 1965. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESIGNATION OF ASTRONAUT CURTIS MICHEL" (PDF). MSC Press Release 69-55. NASA. August 5, 1969. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ "A Running Start – Apollo 17 up to Powered Descent Initiation". Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  11. ^ Williams, Mike (July 17, 2009). "From astrophysicist to astronaut — and back". Rice University News & Media. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021. Michel contends that if he had not resigned when he did, Harrison "Jack" Schmitt — the only one in Michel's astronaut class to walk on the moon — might never have done so. "Jack wasn't even on the agenda," he said. "Another guy was scheduled (for Apollo 17), but the National Academy of Sciences got all pushed out of shape when I left. I think that was largely influential in Jack getting his flight. When it looked like their primary idea of getting a scientist to the moon was going to flop, they finally started pushing their weight around."
  12. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.133.B329
    .
  13. S2CID 123277597
    .
  14. ^
    ISBN 9780226523316
    .
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