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Cho suffered from heart complications. On Saturday morning, he developed a high fever and was hospitalized at Yonsei University Hospital. His condition deteriorated.
He passed away at 10:10 Saturday morning, said Yonhap News Agency.
He is survived by his wife, Chun Key-hyujn and children, Seo-won and Seo-hwa.
Cho earned the moniker, “Dr. Apollo” when he couldn’t control his excitement and fell over from his chair during his live TV commentary in the historic landing of the U.S. space craft Apollo on the moon in 1969.
His effort to bring space science to the general public through his various media participations and writing for decades were widely appreciated in the nation.
Born in Pyongyang, North Korea, Cho studied physics at Yonsei University. He later went to the United States to study astronomy. He returned to Korea in 1968, after a stint as a researcher at NASA.