It is with Sadness that we share the passing of a dear friend and integral part of ShoreLeave and Farpoint’s science programming, Mr. Yoji Kondo.
Yoji Kondo held a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of
Pennsylvania, headed the astrophysics laboratory at the Johnson Space Center during the Apollo and Skylab Missions, and was the NASA director of a geosynchronous satellite observatory for 15 years, among other roles. He also served as President of the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU’s) Commission on “Astronomy from Space”, as well as President of the IAU Commission on “Close Binary Stars” and the IAU Division on “Variable Stars”. In addition to numerous professional titles, he also published several science fiction books including a Star Trek novel. His avocation was Judo (6th degree black-belt) and Aikido (7th degree black belt), and he was teaching the martial arts for a few decades.