Veteran Space Journalist Howard Benedict Dead at 77

Veteran Space Journalist Howard Benedict Dead at 77
Howard Benedict, seen here posing with a display erected in his honor at the Kennedy Space Center in 2004, died Monday, April 25.

HowardBenedict, 77, known as the "dean" of space reporting and formerExecutive Director of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, died Monday, April25, at his Floridahome.

Inthe early years of the United States space program, Benedict introducedgenerations to space exploration, covering more than 2,000 missile and rocketlaunches as the senior aerospace writer for The Associated Press.

Hecovered the first 65 U.S.human space flights, from Alan Shepard's Mercury mission in 1961 to the 34thSpace Shuttle mission in 1990, for 31 of the 37 years he worked for the wireservice.

"HowardBenedict's professional life recorded the manned space program from itsearliest days. Always fair and objective, his coverage became the standard for America andindeed for the world," said former U.S. Senator John Glenn and the firstastronaut to orbit the Earth. "Howard became a loyal and wonderful,personal friend to me and to all the astronauts."

Benedictauthored three books about the space program (NASA: A Quarter Century of Space Achievement in 1984; NASA: The Journey Continues in 1989; andAt Home in Space in 1995) and in 1994co-wrote Moon Shot: TheInside Story of America's Race to the Moon with fellow reporter Jay Barbree and astronauts Alan Shepard and DekeSlayton.

In1992, Benedict began inspiring a new generation by providing educationalopportunities for college engineering and science students offered through theAstronaut Scholarship Foundation. He retired as Executive Director of the ASFin 2004, but continued to serve on their Board of Directors.

"Howard'sunwavering devotion and support of the foundation is a tribute to a man thatthat will live on for years. ASF is what it is today in great part to Howardand his steadfast dedication to the astronauts, their legacy and the scientistsof the future that benefited from his many years of work," said astronautJames Lovell, ASF Chairman Emeritus. "We have not only lost a friend butwe have lost a true champion."

Onehundred and ninety six students reaped the benefit of Benedict's work. Underhis tenure, the ASF disbursed over $2 million in scholarships.

"Hiswork will live on as we continue with the programs that he and the otherMercury astronauts have initiated," said astronaut Owen Garriott, the Foundation Chairman.

Benedictis survived by his wife, Joy. Memorial service arrangements were pending.

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Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.