Ed Buckbee died yesterday. He was 89.
Ed played a major role in shaping Huntsville’s space identity. Before becoming known for his work at The U.S. Space & Rocket Center and most notably Space Camp, he worked in NASA public affairs during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo years.
After an impressive tenure in NASA public affairs, Wernher von Braun and Huntsville city elders selected then 31 year-old Ed Buckbee to become the first director of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center in 1968, two years ahead of its opening.
That position became the foundation of his legacy, and one he would hold until his retirement in 1994. He would use the museum to educate youngsters, eventually creating in 1982 a weeklong space training experience that would become the standard for what an educational camp for youngsters would look like with the creation of Space Camp.
Space Camp became his most lasting contribution, continuing well beyond his retirement from his post in the early 90s, giving generations of students a hands-on introduction to science, engineering, and spaceflight. Even after his retirement, Ed Buckbee continued to travel the world and write, publishing several books and bringing kids from all over the world to Space Camp.
He will be missed by every person whose life was changed by Space Camp.
Related coverage:
- —AL.com — Ed Buckbee, tapped by Wernher von Braun to lead Huntsville’s Space and Rocket Center, dies at 89
- —WAAY 31 — U.S. Space & Rocket Center mourns passing of founding executive director Edward Buckbee
- —Yahoo News — Space Camp visionary Ed Buckbee…
- —WAFF 48 — U.S. Space & Rocket Center founder Ed Buckbee dies at 89
- —Rocket City Now — Space Camp visionary Ed Buckbee, founding Exec. Director of U.S. Space & Rocket Center, dies at 89