Springfield astrophysicist remembered as 'father of space debris science'

Brooke Crum
News-Leader

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated when David L. Talent had a heart attack. It was in 2017, not January.

David L. Talent had a habit of staring up at the sky, long before an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter was named after him.

Steve Talent, left, mother Ruth Talent, and David Talent, right, pose for a photograph at the Springfield airport before David's first plane ride on April 1, 1957, his 5th birthday.

An astrophysicist who worked with NASA, Talent aspired to be an astronaut by the time he turned 10 years old. While he never fulfilled that childhood dream, the Springfield native got as close as possible without ever leaving the planet.

Talent died last month at age 65. He was living in Kentucky and teaching at a university in Tennessee at the time. For decades, he tracked orbital space debris and asteroids, and worked as a scientist for companies like Lockheed Martin, Oceanit and Boeing, before going into academia.

After family members stopped hearing from Talent for a few days, they attempted to call and text him, but he did not answer. Finally, younger sister Kathy Loffler, who lives in Galena, called the police in Kentucky. They found him in his home on Feb. 16. The coroner said he had been dead a few days.

Talent suffered from Parkinson's disease and had a heart attack in 2017, Loffler said.

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"He was very driven and competitive," younger brother Steve Talent said. "He was more interested in solving problems than compensation. He was driven by being able to achieve something."

And his "big brother" achieved many things in life. Aside from having an asteroid named after him, David Talent is considered the "father of space debris science" and acted as a scientific consultant for a movie script, several books and television productions, Loffler said.

Talent authored more than 50 articles in scientific journals. He also held a secret level U.S. security clearance, the second-highest ranking, for 24 consecutive years.

Talent's siblings remembered him as brilliant, adventurous and goofy, the "geek" in the backyard building his own telescope that would break before he finished it. (His parents eventually bought him one.)

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Both brothers became Eagle Scouts and had an affinity for space, watching "Star Trek" and Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon in the summer of 1969. David graduated from Parkview High School in 1970 before attending Missouri State University and graduating magna cum laude in 1974.

David Talent went to Texas next to earn his master's degree in astrophysics and his doctorate in astrophysics at Rice University in Houston. He then did a two-year post-doctorate study at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

While he was at the Yerkes Observatory, Talent found a letter penned by Albert Einstein stuffed inside a book in the observatory library, his brother said. Einstein visited the observatory and had one of his theories proved there.

Talent's first teaching position was at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. He taught numerous courses, from physics to electromagnetic field theory to galactic structure and evolution. Additionally, he held full-time faculty positions with Texas A&M University-Galveston, Rice University, Baylor University and the University of Houston.

David L. Talent was found dead Feb. 16 in his Kentucky home. A Springfield native, Talent became an astrophysicist who worked all over the country for companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Oceanit.

But there was more to Talent than just science. He obtained his private pilot's license and was an avid photographer, like his father, a professional photographer. A photograph he took hangs in the Smithsonian Institution, according to his siblings. He also played the guitar and could draw rather well.

"He took his passion and just ran with it," said younger sister Rebecca Archer. David Talent was the eldest sibling of the four.

All three surviving siblings recalled the same memory: David attempting to construct his own telescope and breaking the telescope mirror when he was trying to grind it down to size. He was in the final polishing stage when the tool got stuck to the mirror.

Loffler, the youngest, remembered Talent as the "kind of big brother anyone would want." He was one of the few people who encouraged her to fulfill her potential and not listen to what others thought about her.

Talent is survived by his two twin sons, Aaron and Byron Talent, who both live in Texas, and a grandchild. His body was cremated.

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