GRAA NEWSLETTER
P.O. Box 1184, Greenbelt, MD 20768-1184

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE AND ARLIN KRUEGER:

On August 11th we held our first GRAA luncheon in 16 months since March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Although our invited speakers, GSFC Center Director Dennis Andrucyk, then NASA Deputy Administrator, Pam Melroy, were unable to attend this month, they each will speak to us at future luncheons. The Greenbelt American Legion Post Commander, Mike Moore, welcomed us back, shared some stories about his experiences with Goddard, and told us why Alberta Moran was the reason that GRAA now meets at the Legion Hall. The Legion followed Covid protocols and we were able to hold a socially distanced, but safe meeting.

While the Deputy Administrator couldn’t make this meeting, we played her message to the NASA employees (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COZ5E_MsgwA) after taking this position at NASA Headquarters. It contained her dream of becoming a test pilot and eventually an astronaut as well as her vision for NASA. She piloted STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002 and was Mission Commander on STS-120 in 2007, making her the second woman to command a space shuttle. We then showed a short NASA video, ”This Week at NASA” highlighting the agency’s accomplishments of the week, (https://youtu.be/uxn3LruBDIM).

Arlin Krueger spoke about the 1991 Meteor-3/TOMS mission, which was the first and last joint scientific mission with the Soviet Union. The team members are celebrating the 30th anniversary of its launch this month. This unique mission was a result of the 1987 Reagan - Gorbachev agreement on “Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes”. TOMS was selected to extend monitoring of the Ozone Hole by the 1978 Nimbus-7 TOMS. Barriers to on-site collaboration at the Soviet facilities disappeared one by one as the mission became defined starting in 1988. The US team integrated TOMS into the Meteor-3 spacecraft at Istra, near Moscow, in 1990, then traveled to the secret Plesetsk launch site for final integration and launch on August 15, 1991, exactly on the date and time selected two years earlier. After return to Moscow, Arlin’s activation team was surprised when a coup was announced and the Soviet Union began to fall. The team was flown out the next day as the coup failed, but the USSR rapidly fell apart. Nevertheless, this TOMS mission delivered high quality data until December 1994.

Ron Browning then closed out the meeting by recalling his memories of April 4, 1983 after the TDRS-1 spacecraft was launched into the wrong orbit by the Shuttle Inertial Upper Stage. He and a group of NASA managers flew from the Cape to White Sands, New Mexico to begin the recovery process. When trying to land the NASA plane, a freak snow storm hit New Mexico and they were forced to make an emergency landing at the only available airstrip, where they were met with guns pointed at them. It turned out to be a secret facility and the commander told them that he would not have let anyone fly in that kind of storm. So, in the end Ron’s group had avoided two catastrophes in one day — the team stayed alive and TDRS 1 eventually got into the correct orbit.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Thomas J. Grenchik, age 88, died on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. He was in the US Army from 1953-1955 and graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering in 1960. He worked as an electrical engineer at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), earned his Master's in Electrical Engineering from IIT, and did contract work for the Navy in San Diego, CA. In April of 1964, Tom started working for Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) in Greenbelt, MD, until he retired in April of 1994. While at NASA, Tom worked for multiple projects including the TDRSS project and the International Space Station (ISS). During the years that he worked at NASA, he joined both the Bowie Barbershop Chorus and the barbershop quartet “One More Song.” After he retired, Tom and his wife moved to Carroll Valley, PA.
• Larry Sylvester Jefferson, age 69, died on March 3, 2021. During his Army career, Larry served as a member of the United States Army Security Agency and completed both foreign (Sinop, Turkey) and domestic tours. After his military career, Larry was a Failure Analysis Specialist at Goddard, responsible for maintaining and calibrating electronic equipment which was used in spacecraft experiments and failure analysis. After a successful tenure at NASA, Larry was offered a position at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Washington, DC. as a technician in the Interconnection Development Engineering Department where he was instrumental in the creation of the Line 21 Closed Caption Project and where he supervised the construction of the computer consoles for the National Captioning Institute, East and West Coast facilities. Larry was a self-taught craftsman of all trades. His favorite hobbies were cooking, fishing, and traveling with family and friends.
• Sylvia Nadine Holland Parker, age 76, died on March 21, 2021 at Arbor Terrace in Greenbelt, Maryland. Sylvia spent four decades working for the U.S. government, beginning her public service at the Department of Labor as a secretary and later working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Years of successful promotions positioned her to become a leader in the division of Logistics Management where she worked on a team responsible for moving the Space Shuttles (while on the ground) between the NASA launch sites. She was a highly admired and competent team member, traveling nationally to many conferences and workshops to facilitate her job with NASA.
• Dr. Malcolm Paul Savedoff, age 92, of Brighton, NY died on April 20, 2021. Dr. Savedoff graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and received his AB from Harvard in 1948, his Master of Science at Princeton, in 1950 and his Doctor of Philosophy (Astrophysics) from Princeton in 1951. He was a National Research Council fellow at the California Institute of Technology, 1951-1952, and subsequently a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Leiden Observatory from 1952-1953. He was Alfred P. Sloane fellow, 1956-1959; National Science Foundation senior postdoctoral fellow Leiden, 1964-1965. He was also President Rochester Bureau Jewish Education, 1972-1974. He was the founding Director of Mees Observatory, 1964, and Senior Research Associate at Goddard Space Flight Center from 1979-1980.
• Richard Alan Brewer, age 68, died on April 26, 2021 in Dameron, Maryland. He was born in Washington, DC and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's College in St. Mary's City, MD in 1979. He worked at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Goddard Space Flight Center, numerous printing companies (House of Printing, Chroma Graphics, The Printing Network, Linemark, RD&K) and ended up at his dream job — St. Mary's College of Maryland as a “Driver/ Special Assistant to the President” in 2017. He loved sports and was always willing to share his knowledge of sports, photography and history.
• Richard Sinclair King, age 87, died on April 26, 2021. A native Washingtonian and 40 year resident of Hyattsville, Maryland, lately residing in Seaford Delaware, he was the husband to Malinda King for 50 years until she passed away in 2011. He graduated Eastern High School in 1952 and went on to serve in the 101st Army Airborne in Germany until 1954. Richard worked as a mathematician at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for 35 years. He was a Turkey Thicket Recreation Center and Brookland Club Alumni. Richard was a lifelong sportsman and an unapologetic Yankees Fan to the very end.
• Paula Theodora Benedyk Groves, age 74, passed away on May 21, 2021 after a long battle with breast cancer. She was born on January 3, 1947. Paula worked as a computer programmer for some time at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, communicating with the shuttle. She later went on to continue her work as a computer programmer at Ciber in Boston, MA until she retired at the age of seventy-two. In 2007, Paula moved to Florida and became involved in the Pasco County Master Gardeners Club, where she worked as a weeder. She also became the secretary of the Native Nations Museum, continuing her role there until her passing.
• Bernard Gilbert Narrow, age 94, passed away June 18, 2021 due to years long battles with multiple forms of cancer. He was born on October 27, 1926 in Hazleton. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rochelle. Bernie's career spanned 40+ years, the majority of which was spent at Goddard Space Flight Center as a quality assurance analyst. Bernie was an avid traveler, having explored many countries throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. He enjoyed playing tennis, taking trips with his family and doting on his grandchildren.
• Henry “Hank” James Middleton, age 76, died on August 10, 2021. While attending Norfolk State College Hank joined the Senior Division Army ROTC, which at the time was offered only as a two year basic program in the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College. During his time at Norfolk State he also became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In 1963 Hank transferred to Virginia State University to complete his ROTC program. He graduated from Virginia State in 1965 with a degree in sociology and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. While attending Virginia State University he met Barbara White, a fellow student. They were married on December 28, 1968. Hank began his military career in 1966, serving in Germany till 1968 and stationed at Ft. Meade until his retirement as a major in 1986. He then joined NASA during the earliest days of the Space Shuttle development program working in the field we now know as cybersecurity and serving as the Center IT Security Manager while working in the Security Branch of the Safety, Environmental and Security Office. He obtained a Master of Business Administration from Morgan State University and retired from NASA in 2007. Subsequent to his retirement he moved to Fredricksburg, VA where he enjoyed gardening, playing tennis, and bowling with friends.
• Frank J. Stocklin, age 82, died on August 17, 2021. Frank grew up in Astoria, New York, and graduated from City College of New York, with a BS in electrical engineering. Frank paid his way through college working on films and TV shows in New York City. Upon graduation from college, he worked for Grumman Aircraft and Motorola Corporation. Beginning in 1967, Frank began working for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center where he spent the remainder of his career until his death. In 2017, he was recognized for fifty years with NASA, receiving the distinguished “Award of Merit.” Frank was an avid athlete, running a marathon, playing basketball and softball, and refereeing high school and college basketball. He was an active member of his community, including coaching baseball, football and basketball for the Laurel Boys and Girls Club, and teaching a graduate engineering class at the University of Maryland.
• Richard Anthony DeMarco, age 92, died on August 18, 2021. Richard graduated from Catholic University in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. He served in the United States Army from 1950-1953. Richard met his wife, Olvido Maria Castillo, when she was visiting from Madrid, Spain at an Italian Embassy Ball. They were married in 1965 in Washington, DC. Richard worked at Goddard as an accountant for 37 years and was the Lead Financial Manager in the Flight Projects Directorate. He enjoyed vacationing with his family and had a camper trailer that he used to take his family on vacation every year, travelling all over the United States from Florida to Maine.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES — IT HAPPENED IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER:

30 years ago. August 15, 1991. USSR Cyclone launched Meteor-3/TOMS to extend monitoring of the Earth’s ozone layer, in the first joint mission with the US.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from Harley Mann, Dorothy Burkholder, Janet Jew, Dave Manges, Gifford Moak, William Townsend and William Worrrall. Janet Jew’s donation was in memory of James Jew. Gifford Moak’s donation was in memory of Mike Talley and David Jacintho.