Pioneering Astrophysicist Van Allen Dies at 91

James Van Allen, an astrophysicist who helped usher in the space age with the launch and discoveries of JPL’s Explorer 1, died of heart failure at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 9. He was 91.

Van Allen worked alongside former JPL director William H. Pickering and Wernher von Braun on several JPL missions. During his career, Van Allen was the principal investigator for scientific investigations on 24 Earth satellites and planetary missions, including Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. He may be best known for his contribution of the 1958 discovery of radiation belts, now called Van Allen belts, that encircle Earth. His other discoveries include a new moon of Saturn in 1979 as well as radiation belts around the planet.

“His discovery of the Van Allen belts was the first major scientific discovery of the space age. The discovery was unexpected, and that’s what made it so exciting,” said Ed Stone, former JPL director and current Caltech physics professor and Voyager project scientist. “It set the tone for future exploration of space by revealing how much there was to be discovered. He focused on what was fundamentally out there to be learned in space, which was very important for the first phase of space exploration. He established the expectation that there was a lot to be discovered in space.”

Before his retirement in 1985, Van Allen was Regent Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Services are pending with Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Iowa City. Thoughts and memories may be shared with the Van Allen family through a website at www.gayandciha.com/obituaries. Click on “obituaries and condolences” and then click on “James Van Allen.”