Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz was born in San José, Costa Rica on April 5, 1950, to Ramón Ángel Chang Morales, an oil worker whose own father fled China during the Boxer Rebellion,[6] and María Eugenia Díaz. One of six children, he has a younger sister, Sonia Rosa (born December 1952) and his mother, brothers and sisters still reside in Costa Rica.[7] His two eldest daughters with his ex-wife Candice Chang, include Sonia Rosa, who is a member of the Massachusetts Senate.[8][9] He married in the United States, on December 17, 1984, Dr. Peggy Marguerite Doncaster (née Stafford, of Alexandria, Louisiana), with whom he has two daughters,[10] both born in Houston, Texas.[11][12][13][7]
Chang-Díaz was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980 and first flew aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-61-C in 1986. Subsequent missions included STS-34 (1989), STS-46 (1992), STS-60 (1994), STS-75 (1996), STS-91 (1998), and STS-111 (2002). During STS-111, he performed three extravehicular activities (EVAs) with Philippe Perrin as part of the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). He was also director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center from 1993 to 2005. Chang-Díaz retired from NASA in 2005.[4]
Dr. Chang with students during the filming of Odyssey 2050 The Movie at Ad Astra Rocket Company, 2010.
After leaving NASA, Chang-Díaz set up the Ad Astra Rocket Company, which became dedicated to the development of advanced plasma rocketpropulsion technology. Years of research and development have produced the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR), an electrical propulsion device for use in space.[15] With a flexible mode of operation, the rocket can achieve very high exhaust speeds, and with a sufficiently powerful electrical supply even has the theoretical capability to take a crewed rocket to Mars in 39 days.[16]
In addition, Chang-Díaz is an adjunct professor in physics and astronomy at Rice University.[18] He has been on the board of directors of Cummins since December 8, 2009.[19]
In 1986, Franklin Chang-Díaz was one of twelve recipients of the Medal of Liberty. He was inducted into the NASA Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 5, 2012[20] in a ceremony that took place in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Also, due to his career and scientific success, he has been decorated multiple times in Costa Rica and named Honor Citizen by the national legislature.[7] The Costa Rican National High Technology Center (CeNAT), among other institutions, is named after him.[21] In 2014, Chang-Díaz was awarded the "Buzz Aldrin Quadrennial Space Award" by The Explorers Club. Buzz Aldrin, whom Chang-Díaz called a childhood hero, presented the award.[22]
