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

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Our first speaker in 2015 was GRAA member Tom Riley. He enthusiastically described his vision of how to return to the Moon and establish a real lunar settlement. He calls his concept Massive On-line Vetted Exploration (MOVE), which draws on the world population to buy in to support lunar exploration. Based on the premise that radiation levels on the Moon are twice as high as originally thought, Tom proposes a "Big Moon Dig" to bury the habitat five meters into the lunar regolith. Two settlement sites, Malapert and Scott A, are proposed based on lunar altimeter data. His approach is to use e-games to capture and expand public interest in designing and simulating the lunar dig. Through team building, e-game players will decide how to dig a trench and design a robotic rover and instruments. After designs mature, robots will be sent to the Moon to dig the trench. After millions have bought-in to the lunar concept through e-game design and simulations, Tom believes exploration will follow. He considered his talk to GRAA as his kick-off and is looking for interested participants in building the "Big Moon Dig" e-game. For more information, check out Tom's website at http://bigmoondig.com/BigMoonDig.html.

WHOOPS: President Ron Browning reports that he committed a faux pas in his write-up in the Holiday Issue of the newsletter pertaining to Dr. Pamela Conrad's November presentation at the GRAA Luncheon. He wrote that "Another difference is that rocks on Mars are fine-grained, leaving no place for embedded minerals (unlike rocks on Earth). Rather than using the phrase "embedded minerals," he should have used the phrase "embedded microbes" and apologizes for his oversight.

RECENT RETIREES : Margaret E. Barton, Catherine E. Bower, Cynthia Y. Cheung, Russell J. Dare, Mozetta A. Edwards, Sharon M. Garrison, Jennifer S. Geiger, John G. Hagopian, Brenda L. Hanrahan, Ellen B. Harden, Nina G. Harris, Stephanie Henry, Sara H. Godfrey, Patricia A. Huber, David L. Huff, Charles H. Jackman, Ellen J. Kozireski, Douglas B. Leviton, Naseema M. Maroof, Bonnie J. Matters, Susan P. Olden, Deborah M. O'Neill, Lois A. Otterson, Michael P. Pasciuto, Barbara E. Patala, Sheila J. Ritter, David J. Rosage, Lynn A. Sanders, Timothy A. Sauerwein, Jacqueline M. Scully, Cheryl Ward, and James W. Woods

TREASURER'S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible contributions from the following: Carol Boquist, John Bosworth, Sandra Brown (in memory of Paul Villone), Ronald Browning, Michael Calabrese, Joyce Cephas (in memory of Arnold Cephas), Stanley Corwin, Richard Costa, James Costrell, Christopher Daly, Edward Danko, Wentworth Denoon, David Douds, Carroll Dudley, George Fleming, Michael Forman, Charles Fuechsel, James Heppner, Claire Hoggard, Eugene Humphrey, Thomas LaVigna, Edward Lawless, Lenoir Lewis, Jr., Robert Lively (in memory of William Fortney), Gerald Longanecker, Patricia Mackey, Michael McCumber, Raymond Melcher, Dillard Menchan, Ralph Mollerick, Llewellyn Nicholson, Robert Orff, Wayne Sours, Richard Strafella, William Struthers, Mary Trainor, Jack Triolo, Thomas Underwood, John Webster, Charles E. White, Robert Wigand, and Robert E. Wilson.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY: On February 3, 1965, a Delta rocket launched the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-B2) from Cape Canaveral, FL. The satellite was constructed from salvaged parts from the original OSO-B satellite as well as parts from the OSO prototype. The original satellite was heavily damaged in a tragic accident on April 14, 1964, killing three and injuring nine technicians, which ignited the rocket during a pre-launch check-out caused by static electricity. The objectives of the OSO series of satellites were to perform solar physics experiments above the atmosphere during a complete solar cycle and to map the entire celestial sphere for direction and intensity of ultraviolet light, x-ray, and gamma radiation. OSO-B2 ceased operating on June 1, 1966.

UPCOMING NASA MISSIONS ON THE HORIZON: The Soil Moisture Active & Passive (SMAP) satellite is on target to be launched from a Delta II rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, on or about January 29^th. SMAP is an Earth satellite mission designed to measure and map Earth's moisture and freeze/thaw state to better understand terrestrial water, carbon and energy cycles. In addition, the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is on target to be launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on or about January 31^st. DSCOVR is a spacecraft that will orbit between Earth and the Sun, primarily to observe and provide advanced warning of particles and magnetic fields emitted by the Sun which can affect power grids, communications systems, and satellites close to Earth.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Melvin "Mel" C. Clark , of College Park, MD, passed away on December 12, 2014. He was a Communications Technician and started working in 1959 for Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (BFEC) at various NASA ground stations, including service as the BFEC Station Manager Gilmore Creek near Fairbanks, AK. He later became a civil servant and his strong communications background and technical expertise in ground station operations contributed greatly to operations plans for satellites, to include set-up and station configuration required to support numerous spacecraft. The principal organizations for which he worked included the Office of Tracking and Data Systems, the Tracking and Data Systems Directorate, and the Mission Operations & Data Systems Directorate.
• Donald C. Conrad , of Leesburg, FL, passed away on July 14, 2014. Among other assignments, he was a Cabinetmaker at Goddard and worked in the Plant Operations & Maintenance Division of the Administration & Management Directorate and its successor, the Management Operations Directorate.
• Edward J. Devine , of Laurel, MD, passed away on January 15^th. He was an Aerospace Engineer at Goddard and was known for designing electro-mechanical devices for spacecraft. His assignments included Head of the Mechanisms Section, Electro-Mechanical Branch, Mechanical Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate and later Head of the Technology Section, Electro-Mechanical Branch, and Space Technology Division of the Engineering Directorate.
• Harold B. Goldberg , of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on December 14, 2014. He was a Mission Assurance Specialist at Goddard for the Test & Evaluation Division and Quality Assurance Division of the Systems Reliability Directorate and its successor, the Office of Flight Assurance. He later moved to the Meteorological Satellites Project and the Polar Operational Environmental Satellite Project, both of the Flight Projects Directorate.
• William B. Johnson , of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on November 15, 2014. He was an Aerospace Engineer at Goddard who principally worked for the Delta Project in the Projects Directorate.
• Samuel W. Keller , of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on December 14, 2014. He began his NASA career in 1960 as an Attorney in Goddard's Legal Patent Office. After holding various management positions, he became the Goddard's Director of Administration & Management in 1972 and transferred to NASA Headquarters in 1975, after which he was appointed in 1981 as Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science & Applications, concentrating on major space flight systems like the Hubble Space Telescope and Cosmic Background Explorer. He was appointed in 1989 to Associate Deputy Administrator and in 1992 as Associate Administrator for Russian Programs.
• Charles L. Lipsett , of Atlantic, VA, passed away on December 13, 2014. He was a Mechanical Engineer at Goddard's Wallops Flight Facility assigned to the Engineering Division of the Suborbital Projects & Operations Directorate and later the Mechanical Systems Center of the Applied Engineering & Technology Directorate.
• Robert J. Sullivan , of Front Royal, VA, passed away on December 3, 2014. He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard and worked during his career in the Systems Division of the Technology Directorate, the Earth Observation System & Systems Engineering Division of the Space Applications Directorate, and was Assistant Chief of the Laboratory for Oceans and later its successor, the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes, of the Earth Sciences Directorate.
• Otto W. Thiele , of Laurel, MD, passed away on December 15, 2014. He was a Meteorologist who, early in his NASA career, was Director of NASA's Apollo tracking ship (USNS Vanguard) stationed at Cape Canaveral. After the Apollo and Skylab missions, he transferred to Goddard in 1974 where he conducted research in upper atmosphere weather conditions. His most noted accomplishment was as a leadership team member for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, a joint US/Japan mission that measured precipitation over tropical ocean areas.

MARYLAND'S HOMELESS VETERANS NEED HELP : Michael Moore, Commander of American Legion Post #136 in Greenbelt, MD, has asked GRAA members within commuting distance of Goddard to consider donating warm clothing and new personal hygiene items (e.g., cosmetics, toiletries) for distribution to the Maryland Center for Veterans Education & Training (MCVET), which the Post supports on a year-round basis. Interested members may simply drop off items at the Post (6900 Greenbelt Road) on any afternoon. The MCVET, located in downtown Baltimore, MD, serves about 250 homeless veterans on a long-term basis and more veterans stop in daily to partake of a meal, shower, and other needed services.

THOUGHT FOR FEBRUARY : The colder an x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.