G.R.A.A.

                           Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association

                           P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD  20703-0163

 JUNE 2007                                      http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov                         23rd Year of Publication

IMPORTANT DATES: 

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT:  We experienced a “first” at our May luncheon, as Queen Elizabeth’s visit pre-empted the usual timing of our luncheon.  No visitors, including retirees, were allowed on the Center until the Queen and her entourage departed.  Consequently, the luncheon did not start until after 1:00 p.m.  We apologize to attendees who were held up at the Main Gate for an hour or more before being able to proceed to the Rec Center.

This is our first issue using bulk mail for distributing the newsletter to members who have not signed up to receive the newsletter via e-mail.  Benefits provided by the US Postal Service come with some down sides.  Mailing rates are reduced, but GRAA is required to pay higher annual fees and do more work by sorting the newsletters by Zip Code, using a special indicia instead of a stamp, and delivering the newsletters in trays to the Southern Maryland bulk mail center.  For one reason or another, we have had to change the mailing process regularly over the past several months, so owe thanks to              Marge Gustafson and her dedicated crew for their flexibility (although they seem to continue to “enjoy” the challenges).

Many members have noted that they like the newsletter’s Goddard Archives section.  I find, however, that we have used most of the launch events dating from Goddard’s inception and are running out of events we have not previously highlighted.  We therefore need your assistance as we begin to repeat events.  Please identify specific Goddard-related events and tell us what makes them memorable to you.  Instead of showcasing three events in each issue, perhaps we can provide additional details on a specific launch that occurred during a given month.  Any other ideas you may have for the Goddard Archives section will also be appreciated.  

TREASURER’S REPORT:  Bob Wigand reports donations were received from the following:  Gus Alicea, Jack Bowman, Mary Butler, Herb and Lois Chapman, Stan Corwin, Dave Douds, Dick Fitzenreiter, George Hogan, Clara Jean Hughes, Steve Maran, Wilma MacDonald, Bill McGunigal, Grace Miller, George Robinson, and Joe Rothenberg.

ROAD CLEANUP:  GRAA’s quarterly road cleanup will be held after the June luncheon.  Please contact Bob Wigand at 301-937-1178 if you are planning to participate in the cleanup effort, work off your lunch, and get some exercise.           

LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS:  Due to limited space, Ye Ed apologizes for not being able to include all of the notes that arrive in the GRAA mailbox.  Suffice it to say that all notes and tax-deductible contributions are greatly appreciated.  Of the many notes received, Ye Ed has randomly selected the following for inclusion in this issue: 

§   Jack Bowman wrote,  “Please accept this small contribution to show my appreciation for the work that you and your staff do on the newsletter.”

§   George Robinson wrote, “I look forward each month for the Newsletter to find out what’s going on.  I have enclosed a check to help that along.”

GRAA NEWSLETTER MAILINGS:  If you no longer wish to receive GRAA mailings, please send a note to our Lanham address or an e-mail to Dave Moulton at davidlmoulton@comcast.net.  If you have moved or want to make corrections to the address appearing on your mailing label, simply write to our Seabrook address or send an e-mail to Strat Laios at stratlaios@comcast.net.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:  Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN JUNE:

§   June 11, 1962:  Marty Davis started working at Goddard.  Luther Slifer interviewed Marty for the job.  The Branch Chief was Bob Rochelle and the Assistant Branch Chief was Roland Van Allen.  Marty may consider retiring one of these days!

§   June 21, 1969:  Delta launched Explorer 41/Interplanetary Monitoring Probe (IMP) G, a spin-stabilized spacecraft, into a high-inclination, highly elliptical orbit designed to measure energetic particles, magnetic fields, and plasma in cislunar space.

§   June 1, 1990:  Delta-II launched ROSAT (Roentgen Satellite), the German X-ray Observatory, for the German Aerospace Center.  NASA contributed with the launch and with the high-resolution imager built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.  The British Science and Engineering Research Council contributed the wide field camera.

§   June 7, 1992:  Delta-II launched the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE).  The first phase of the mission (six months) was dedicated to an all-sky survey using the EUVE’s imaging instruments.  The second phase was dedicated to pointed observations using mainly the spectroscopic instruments.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

§         Abel T. Ashby, of Onancock, VA, passed away on April 4^th after a three-week illness.  He served as an Electrical Engineering Technician at Wallops, retiring in 1986.

§         Shirley R. Deremer, of Churchton, MD, passed away from natural causes on May 12^th.  She worked as a Public Affairs Specialist in GSFC’s Office of Public Affairs.

§         Frank C. Jones, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on May 2^nd after a yearlong battle with cancer.  Dr. Jones came to Goddard in 1963, first as a National Research Council associate and subsequently as a member of the Theory Division and the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics.  He retired in 2005 and was an Emeritus Scientist at the time of his death.

§         Donald C. Kaufmann, of Wellsboro, PA, passed away on April 6^th.  He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard.

§         William R. Forlifer, of Arnold, MD, passed away from pulmonary fibrosis on May 5^th. 

§         Margaret Louise Lau, of Mitchellville, MD, passed away from pneumonia at age 100 on April 18^th.  She was an Aeronautical Space Analyst, joining Goddard when it opened, and helped track unmanned space flights and predicted the times and locations of more than 200 satellites as they rotated the Earth.

§         George L. Peters, of Melbourne, FL, passed away on May 13^th.  He was a Quality and Reliability Engineer at Goddard.

§         Leon Woodard, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on April 21^st.  He worked on logistics and documentation for operating networks (e.g., the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network and the Manned Space Flight Network).

§         Mary Elizabeth “Betty” White, of Churchton, MD, passed away from natural causes on May 20^th.  She was a Procurement Specialist at Goddard.

FORMER GRAA PRESIDENT REUNITES WITH NOBEL PRIZE WINNER:  In mid-April, Dr. George Pieper, former GRAA President, had the opportunity to reunite with Dr. John Mather, co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics (with George Smoot of the University of California at Berkeley) for the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Pieper hired Dr. Mather at Goddard and also gave him the job as COBE Project Scientist.

In addition to being awarded the Nobel Prize, Dr. Mather was also selected to receive the Robinson Prize in Cosmology from England’s University of Newcastle at Tyne.Dr. Mather is currently Chief Scientist for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb SpaceTelescope Project at Goddard.