Edward „Ed” Buckbee (1936-05.04.2026) [89]
Pierwszy dyrektor
U.S. Space & Rocket Center w Huntsville w stanie Alabama oraz załozyciel
U.S. Space Camp.
Ed BuckbeeSpace Camp
U.S. Space & Rocket Center founder Ed Buckbee dies at 89By Javon Williams Published: Apr. 7, 2026 at 12:11 AM CEST|Updated: 11 hours ago
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Ed Buckbee, a space pioneer who served as Dr. Wernher von Braun’s public affairs officer and founded the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, died this weekend. He was 89.
Buckbee was the first public affairs officer at the Marshall Space Flight Center and served as the point man for the Mercury 7 Astronauts, Gemini and Apollo astronauts.
He established the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in 1970 to house space artifacts from the 1960s. Buckbee also became the Rocket Center’s first director.
In 1977, Buckbee and von Braun came up with the idea for Space Camp to educate future engineers and rocket scientists. Thousands of young people have attended the camps in recent decades.
The Huntsville city council honored Buckbee last October for his long career with the U.S. Space program.
A memorial will be held at the Space and Rocket Center on April 25.
Officials at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center released a statement on Buckbee’s passing.
“In his 23-year tenure at the Rocket Center, he accomplished many things but perhaps none greater than opening Space Camp in 1982,” the statement said. “The future engineers, scientists, and astronauts Space Camp inspires are his enduring legacy.”
Space Camp alumni include current Artemis II Astronaut Christina Koch, who attended the camp five times.
https://www.waff.com/2026/04/06/us-space-rocket-center-founder-ed-buckbee-dies-89/