Kevin Beurle

Kevin Beurle (19 January 1956 – 29 May 2009) was a Welsh space scientist and programmer. He worked at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL), who played a key role in the Cassini–Huygens mission to study Saturn and its moons. He was a specialist in space imaging systems. Beurle was the lead Cassini programmer at QMUL, developing software and designing the spacecraft's observation sequences.

Life and career Kevin Beurle was born in Swansea on 19 February 1956. He was a fifth-generation vegetarian and the great-great-grandson of the early vegetarian activist George Dornbusch. After attending local schools, Beurle earned a BSc in Physics from Imperial College London in 1976. He continued at Imperial for his PhD research with the Cosmic Rays and Space Physics Group. Following this, he worked as a research assistant, focusing on X-ray astronomy using high-altitude telescopes transported by balloons.

Personal life Beurle had one daughter, Angharad.

Death Beurle died on 29 May 2009 when the hot-air balloon he was riding in collided with another and plummeted 50 m (160 ft) to the ground shortly after take-off in Cappadocia, Turkey. He was the only fatality, though others suffered severe and, in one case, critical injuries.