In late 2018, Professor Stephen Hawking was posthumously awarded the International Space University’s first Lifetime Achievement Award – presented from the International Space Station, where the award remains to this day. In coordination with NASA Astronaut and then-ISS Commander Drew Feustel, and the Institute of Space Commerce, due recognition was given to Professor Hawking’s invaluable contributions to science and inspiration to the global space community. On this fifth anniversary of Professor Hawking’s passing, the International Space University and the Institute of Space Commerce wish to celebrate his legacy by remembering this special occasion.
Professor Hawking had a lifelong goal to fly in space. Prior to his death, he was awarded the first and only International Space University Lifetime Achievement Award. He unfortunately passed away before the award could be made in person. At his personal request, this award was presented posthumously from the ISS, by then-Commander Astronaut Dr. Drew Feustel, where it remains to this day.
Here is the video of the Award Presentation.
“We were so thrilled as a family to receive this award on behalf of our late and much missed father,” said Lucy Hawking, Stephen’s daughter. “He would have been delighted by this unique and special lifetime achievement award. My father’s great ambition was to fly in space himself and so it seemed very fitting to him that he was given this award from the ISS. My father spent so much of his life thinking about the cosmos so it’s really lovely that the cosmos has given something back to him.”
Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of the International Space University, shared, “The contributions of Dr. Stephen Hawking – an eminent scientist, theoretical physicist and cosmologist – to the understanding of our universe were boundless. He was an outstanding role model for the ISU community and future generations. It was an honor for ISU to dedicate our first lifetime achievement award to Dr. Stephen Hawking.”
Chris Stott, co-founder of the Institute of Space Commerce and ISU alumnus, added, “Professor Hawking shone like a light in the darkness. I’m so glad we could publicly recognize him with this honor commemorating the enduring legacy he left for generations to come.”
