posted 08-01-2011 11:16 PM               

Scientist-astronaut Brian O'Leary (1940-2011)

According to media reports, former NASA astronaut Brian T. O'Leary died on July 29, 2011, after battling cancer and deteriorating health conditions in recent years. He was 71.

The following excerpt is reprinted from "Who's Who in Space: The First 25 Years" (1986) by Michael Cassutt.

Dr. Brian O'Leary trained as a NASA scientist-astronaut for six months before resigning. His book, "The Makings of an Ex-Astronaut" (1970), discussed his dislike of jet pilot training and his disillusionment with NASA's treatment of scientist-astronauts at the time.

O'Leary was born January 27, 1940, in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in physics from Williams College in 1961, a Master of Arts (MA) in astronomy from Georgetown University in 1964 and his PhD in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967.

Prior to becoming an astronaut O'Leary was a NASA pre-doctoral trainee in the Space Science Laboratory, Department of Astronomy, at Berkeley.

Selected by NASA in August 1967 as one of 11 scientist-astronauts, O'Leary underwent six months of ground training concentrated on Apollo and Apollo Applications (later Skylab) systems. He reported to Williams Air Force Base in Arizona to begin pilot training in February 1968, but soon resigned.

After leaving NASA, O'Leary held teaching and research positions at several universities including Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, the California Institute of Technology and Princeton. He was also a consultant on energy matters for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on the Interior.

He was working at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in California when "remote viewing" and near-death experiences led his interests away from mainstream science.

O'Leary co-founded the International Association for New Science and the Institute of New Energy. In 2003, he founded the New Energy Movement to find "advanced, clean and sustainable energy sources."

In addition to "The Makings of an Ex-Astronaut," O'Leary wrote more than ten books including "Project Space Station" (1983) and "Mars 1999: Exclusive Preview of the US-Soviet Manned Mission" (1987).

In 2003, O'Leary moved to Ecuador, where he resided until his passing. He is survived by his wife Meredith and two children from a former marriage.

posted 08-01-2011 11:53 PM               

His book about the Excess Eleven is one of the first space books I read from cover to cover. Very enjoyable!

posted 08-02-2011 08:17 AM               

A great-grand parent of mine was an O'Leary. My uncle did some extensive genealogical research years ago and among other things found that all O'Learys are descendants from a single clan in Ireland, several hundred years ago.