G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD 20703-0163

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Dr. John Mather, Goddard’s Nobel laureate, provided an excellent presentation at our June luncheon about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA’s next generation space telescope, and provided some insight into his post-Nobel experiences from participation in a variety of unrelated activities such as the World Peace Conference. He explained that Dr. Stephen Hawking noted that the Cosmic Background Explorer’s Big Bang discovery was the most important scientific discovery of all time. A few scientific factoids Dr. Mather offered include: In two to five billion years the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will collide; 1230 exoplanets have been discovered by the Kepler satellite; and scientists believe there is an equal or greater amount of dark energy than dark matter, possibly at a 90/10 ratio. The JWST is expected to expand on findings from the Hubble Space Telescope, but will focus on the visible to ultraviolet part of the spectrum in a sun/earth Lagrangian orbit a million miles from Earth. Significant progress has been made on the four JWST instruments, telescope structure, and mirror development and testing. All 18 elements of the 21-foot beryllium mirror are completed and polished. Dr. Mather showed images of the mirror and a video of the deployment of the tennis court-sized sun shield. The JWST schedule and funding profile ($18B total cost) are driving the launch schedule to 2018. An Ariane 5 rocket will launch it from French Guiana. Data acquisition for the 5- to 10-year mission will be from Deep Space Network facilities in the Mojave Desert at Ft. Irwin, CA, and Canberra, Australia, while science control will be conducted at the Johns Hopkins Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.

NEWLETTER EDITOR’S MEA CULPA: : Ye Ed slipped an incorrect term into Ron Browning’s comments in last month’s issue (for members sent hardcopy newsletters). Summarizing Dr. Compton (Jim) Tucker’s presentation, Ye Ed wrote that his research concluded that “lack of cloud cover...causes the ‘simulation’ of ice.” No scientist worth his/her salt would simulate ice. The correct word should have been ‘sublimation’ (i.e., the process of changing from a solid state to a gas/vapor without passing through a liquid state). Ye Ed apologizes to Jim and Ron for the misstep.

RECENT RETIREES: : Dr. L. Drake Deming, Dr. Wayne E. Esaias, Richard W. Freburger, James T. Harper, Sherry L. Pollock, and Thomas W. Zagwodzki.

TREASURER'S REPORT : Bob Wigand reports tax-deductible contributions were received from the following members: George Bryant, Pete Cline, Walter Gates, Ann Hovis, Bill Pohl, Ed Powell, Dick Tagler, Jack Triolo, Jim Tucker (our May luncheon speaker), and Clark Wardrip.

MEMBER JOHN DAVIS MAKES HEADLINES: Member John Davis reflects on his association with the Vanguard and TIROS satellites in the May 23^rd issue of the Carroll County Times newspaper published in Westminster, MD. To read the article, go to: http://carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/westminster-man-reflects-on-development-of-satellites-during-space-race/article_069d6c5c-84eb-11e0-a919-001cc4c002e0.html.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

•  George T. Bishop IV, of Pocomoke City, MD, passed away on May 25^th following an extended illness. He retired in 1993 as Supervisor of the Q6 Radar Installation at the Wallops Flight Facility.

•  Julian F. Cottrell, Silver Spring, MD, passed away on June 12^th. He was a Machinist and also involved with electronics, and at his retirement in 1987 was working in the Instrument Division of the Engineering Directorate.

•  David V. Davis, of Chincoteague Island, VA, passed away on April 29^th. He retired in 1982 as a Procurement Officer at Wallops Flight Facility.

•  Lillian B. Jamieson, of Georgetown, SC, passed away on February 4^th. While at Goddard, she served as a Computer Specialist in both the Data Processing and Information Processing Divisions.

•  George C. Keller, of Columbia, MD, passed away on May 4^th following a stroke. He was an Engineer at Goddard and worked on many missions, including the first weather satellite and the Space Shuttle Program.

•  Richard G. Plihal, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on June 9^th. While at Goddard, he was assigned over time to the Sounding Rocket Branch of the Spacecraft Integration and Sounding Rocket Division, the Propulsion Vehicles Branch of the Sounding Rocket Division, and the Flight Support Branch of the Special Payloads Division.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN JULY:
July 1, 1966: A Delta rocket launched Explorer 33/Anchored Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (AIMP) 1/IMP-D. It was designed to become the first US spacecraft to enter lunar orbit, but was unable to slow down enough to be captured by the Moon’s gravity. It did, however, meet mission objectives of studying interplanetary charged particles, magnetic fields, and solar x-rays. Contact with the spacecraft was lost in September 1971.
July 19, 1967: A Delta rocket launched Explorer 35/AIMP 2/IMP-E. Among many objectives, the spacecraft studied the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field. The spacecraft was turned off in June 1973.

MEMBER SECOND CAREERS/SIDELINES : We’re initiating a new newsletter item that will appear occasionally to highlight a member’s second career/sideline. You are encouraged to send Dave Moulton a note to our Lanham, MD, address or e-mail (davidlmoulton@comcast.net) about an interesting venture you’re involved with that is unrelated to your Goddard career. When space allows, we’ll include a brief blurb about what you’re up to in an upcoming issue.

This month we showcase Ray and Judy Hartenstein of Cushing, TX. A year or so ago they started a literary program in their hometown, as an affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, to provide a book a month to preschoolers. Go to http://dollysimaginationlibrary.com and check out Dolly’s program objectives and its 2010 year in review. Ray says it’s a ton of fun and, perhaps more importantly, it is helping the children of Rusk County! If interested, contact Ray and Judy at littleonesliteracy@hotmail.com for more information about their program.

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS : If you have time on your hands, member Charlie Boyle recommends checking out these web sites to see how you might help NASA and other organizations: http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/22apr_zooniverse/ and http://www.zooniverse.org.