October 10, 2008

Jim Benson

SpaceDev Founder Jim Benson Dies

"SpaceDev, Inc. announced today that SpaceDev Founder and Board Member James Benson, 63, died peacefully in his home. Benson was diagnosed in 2007 with a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor, the cause of his death early this morning.

Mr. Benson had resigned from an operational role in SpaceDev in September 2006. He retained a seat on the Board of Directors of SpaceDev where he had continued to support the Company that he founded in 1997."



Posted by kcowing at October 10, 2008 6:27 PM
Comments

I only met Jim a few times at various space conferences but his enthusiasm to open up access to space, providing an alternative cheaper access was infectious. He made many great contributions. He will be missed.

Posted by: Marc Boucher at October 10, 2008 6:58 PM

I exchanged a few e-mails with Jim Benson and found him to be very interesting and enthusiastic about his work. I regret that he isn't around to see what is going to happen with some of his more ambitious dreams. My condolences to everyone who will miss him.

Posted by: Eric Hedman at October 10, 2008 9:25 PM

I'll say amen to the comments above. Like some of the other leaders of the New Space effort, he was always accessible and often outspoken. And he had a grand vision for the effort as well:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9073822/

Sometimes he fell short of the vision, and sometimes he made missteps. But let's hope there are more Jim Bensons out there to keep pushing outward. My prayers are with him, and with his family, along with my condolences.

Posted by: Alan Boyle at October 11, 2008 7:07 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?

COPYRIGHT: Unless otherwise specified, all formatting, imagery, link collections, and HTML coding contained within this website © copyright 1996 - 2009. All Rights Reserved Re-use of graphics, text, or HTML formatting for commercial or private use is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

Copyright

This website does not have any connection whatsoever with, endorsement by, or authorization from, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration nor does any product or service being offered or made available to the public have the authorization, support, sponsorship, or endorsement of, or the development, use, or manufacture by or on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.