Steve Durst – the US citizen space diplomat who reached out to China
South China Morning Post
by Ling XinFebruary 16, 2026
Steve Durst, a US space entrepreneur who spent decades building rare bridges with China’s space sector despite restrictions on official cooperation, has died aged 82.
Durst, who founded the non-profit International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), was publishing on China’s astronaut training as early as 1980, when the country’s human space flight ambitions were still little known to the outside world.
He died at his home in California last month, shortly after attending a workshop in Chiang...
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Originally published on South China Morning Post on 2/16/2026