Ed Lu
Encyclopedia
Edward Tsang "Ed" Lu (born July 1, 1963) is an American
physicist
and a former NASA
astronaut
. He is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station
.
, to a Chinese family. Lu attended R. L. Thomas High School, where he was a member of the wrestling team and graduated in 1980. Later, Lu earned a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University
where he lettered in wrestling. He then received a doctoral degree in applied physics from Stanford University
in 1989. Lu is a member of the Psi chapter of Pi Kappa Phi
fraternity at Cornell.
Lu is a specialist in solar physics and did postdoctoral work at the Institute for Astronomy
in Honolulu, Hawaii
before being selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps
in 1994.
missions STS-84
in 1997 and STS-106
in 2000, in which he carried out a six-hour spacewalk to perform construction work on the International Space Station. Having been flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-2
, Lu spent six months in space in 2003 as part of ISS Expedition 7
, with cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko
. In July 2003, Lu and Malenchenko answered questions from students participating in Japan's NASDA special educational event, where Ed Lu performed Happy Birthday
on an electronic piano for a student's birthday in the live broadcast from space. He had demonstrated the difficulty of playing the piano instrument in space during a live in-orbit interview with CBS News and NASA TV video feed. Also on this ISS mission on 15 October 2003, Lu communicated with the crewman of China's first manned mission into space, Yang Liwei
, flying aboard Shenzhou 5
. Lu congratulated the Chinese for the achievement and said in Putonghua: "Welcome to space. Have a safe journey". Malenchenko added: "I love to have somebody else in space instead of (just) me and Ed".
In his spare time while at NASA, Lu founded the B612 Foundation
whose goal is to be able to significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid, in a controlled manner, by 2015.
(founder of JREF) to perform a card trick in outer space. Randi asked Lu to (without looking) select a card from the middle of a brand new freshly shuffled deck of cards, turn it around and reinsert the card into the deck the opposite direction. Then place the deck of cards back into its box then take them out again and fan the cards to the camera. This same procedure was being done by Randi back on Earth at the JREF headquarters in front of witnesses from the Miami Herald. Both Randi and Lu successfully selected the same card, the seven of diamonds. The remaining cards were jettisoned for weight reasons before returning to Earth, but Lu smuggled the card home. The two cards complete with autographs are framed for public view at the JREF offices in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Randi asks Lu "What are the odds that we would both choose the same card?" Lu answers "Knowing you and your tricky ways, the odds were one in one, because it's a trick!"
.
In June 2010, Lu left Google and worked out of the Sunfire Offices..
Starting in September of 2011, Lu joined Liquid Robotics
as Chief of Innovative Applications, where his work includes outreach to promote new applications for ocean science.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and a former NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
.
Education
Raised in Webster, New YorkWebster, New York
Webster may refer to two municipalities in Monroe County, New York in the United States:*Webster , New York*Webster , New York, located entirely within the town...
, to a Chinese family. Lu attended R. L. Thomas High School, where he was a member of the wrestling team and graduated in 1980. Later, Lu earned a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where he lettered in wrestling. He then received a doctoral degree in applied physics from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1989. Lu is a member of the Psi chapter of Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
fraternity at Cornell.
Lu is a specialist in solar physics and did postdoctoral work at the Institute for Astronomy
Institute for Astronomy
The Institute for Astronomy is a research unit within the University of Hawaii system, led by Günther Hasinger as Director. IfA main headquarters are located at 2680 Woodlawn Drive in Honolulu, Hawaii, , on the University of Hawaii at Mānoa campus. Additional facilities are located at Pukalani,...
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
before being selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps
NASA Astronaut Corps
The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions.-History:...
in 1994.
NASA career
Lu flew on space shuttleSpace Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
missions STS-84
STS-84
STS-84 was a manned spaceflight mission by Space Shuttle Atlantis to the Mir space station.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Spacehab-DM: ** Orbiter Docking System: **Cargo delivered to Mir:...
in 1997 and STS-106
STS-106
STS-106 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: 233 mi...
in 2000, in which he carried out a six-hour spacewalk to perform construction work on the International Space Station. Having been flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-2
Soyuz TMA-2
Soyuz TMA-2 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
, Lu spent six months in space in 2003 as part of ISS Expedition 7
Expedition 7
Expedition 7 was the seventh expedition to the International Space Station.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Perigee: 384 km*Apogee: 396 km*Inclination: 51.6°*Period: 92 min...
, with cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko
Yuri Malenchenko
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a Ukrainian-Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles over New Zealand, on the International Space Station...
. In July 2003, Lu and Malenchenko answered questions from students participating in Japan's NASDA special educational event, where Ed Lu performed Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
on an electronic piano for a student's birthday in the live broadcast from space. He had demonstrated the difficulty of playing the piano instrument in space during a live in-orbit interview with CBS News and NASA TV video feed. Also on this ISS mission on 15 October 2003, Lu communicated with the crewman of China's first manned mission into space, Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei
Yáng Lìwěi is a Chinese major general and military pilot and a CNSA astronaut. He was the first man sent into space by the Chinese space program and his mission, Shenzhou 5, made China the third country to independently send people into space.-Background:...
, flying aboard Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 — was the first human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China , launched on October 15, 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions since 1999...
. Lu congratulated the Chinese for the achievement and said in Putonghua: "Welcome to space. Have a safe journey". Malenchenko added: "I love to have somebody else in space instead of (just) me and Ed".
In his spare time while at NASA, Lu founded the B612 Foundation
B612 Foundation
The B612 Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to protecting the Earth from asteroid strikes. Their immediate goal is to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015"....
whose goal is to be able to significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid, in a controlled manner, by 2015.
Magic trick in space
While on the ISS, Lu teamed up with magician James RandiJames Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
(founder of JREF) to perform a card trick in outer space. Randi asked Lu to (without looking) select a card from the middle of a brand new freshly shuffled deck of cards, turn it around and reinsert the card into the deck the opposite direction. Then place the deck of cards back into its box then take them out again and fan the cards to the camera. This same procedure was being done by Randi back on Earth at the JREF headquarters in front of witnesses from the Miami Herald. Both Randi and Lu successfully selected the same card, the seven of diamonds. The remaining cards were jettisoned for weight reasons before returning to Earth, but Lu smuggled the card home. The two cards complete with autographs are framed for public view at the JREF offices in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Randi asks Lu "What are the odds that we would both choose the same card?" Lu answers "Knowing you and your tricky ways, the odds were one in one, because it's a trick!"
After NASA
On August 10, 2007, Lu announced he was retiring from NASA to work at GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
In June 2010, Lu left Google and worked out of the Sunfire Offices..
Starting in September of 2011, Lu joined Liquid Robotics
Liquid Robotics
Liquid Robotics is an ocean data services provider and developer of the Wave Glider marine robot that functions as a persistent and versatile platform for scientific and industrial payloads....
as Chief of Innovative Applications, where his work includes outreach to promote new applications for ocean science.
External links
- http://www.liquidr.com/company/executive-team
- NASA biography
- Dr. Lu's Space Blog written from during Expedition 7
- Spacefacts biography of Ed Lu