NASA’s Jesco von Puttkamer Has Died

Internal NASA memo: “Jesco passed away today at ~11am. He died at home. He had flu like symptoms for the last week. He is survived by his wife Ursula. This was unexpected and a shock to everyone. Ursula is still making plans and will likely want a simple remembrance. Sam will coordinate and we will keep you informed of plans. Jesco was a tremendous representative of NASA. Jesco will be missed. His passing is a reminder to all of us that each day is precious.”

Jesco von Puttkamer – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“After World War II, during which his family lived in Switzerland, von Puttkamer studied mechanical engineering at Konstanz and the Technische Hochschule (RWTH Aachen) in Aachen, graduating with a university degree. In 1962 he left Germany for the United States, where he joined Wernher von Braun’s rocket team at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama as an engineer during the Apollo Program.”

Keith’s note: It will be some time before the daily ISS Onorbit Status reports appear again. You see, Jesco did these reports every single day for more than a decade. The only time I can recall where there was a hiatus was last year when he was on vacation in Europe and his laptop died. There is an interesting story behind the origin of these reports – it has to do with some things Jim Oberg and I posted and wrote about a long time ago during the problems on Mir and how Congress reacted … Jesco was an unusual link between the Apollo era and today. I am certain that a number of people will post here and elsewhere about his unusually long connection with space exploration – a legacy that many people might not be totally aware of – or totally appreciate.

Ad astra, Jesco.