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

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE, GRAA PRESIDENT: Well, chock it up to that pesky groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, which saw his shadow early on February 2^nd and unfortunately did not give us a reprieve by predicting six more weeks of winter, so you can blame it on him for cancelling March’s GRAA Luncheon. However, eight dedicated members braved the nor’easter raging up the East Coast and showed up at the American Legion Post in Greenbelt to partake in a corned beef and cabbage lunch in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day three days later prior to heading home early to take their usual afternoon naps. Dr. Michael Mumma, our featured speaker, has graciously agreed to reschedule his presentation until the GRAA Luncheon on July 11^th.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from the following: James Barcus, Jr., Ronald Browning, David Manges, John Millman, Thomas Page (in memory of Sybille Page), Mark Walther (in memory of Valorie Burr, Kelly Carter, and Phillip Sabelhaus), and Charles W. White (in memory of Gilbert Ousley).

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – IT HAPPENED IN APRIL: On April 1, 1998, a Pegasus XL rocket launched the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. TRACE (aka: Explorer 73), was a small explorer mission designed to examine the three-dimensional magnetic structures which emerge through the Sun’s photosphere (the Sun’s visible surface) and define both the geometry and dynamics of the upper solar atmosphere. Its primary science objectives were to: (1) follow the evolution of magnetic field structures from the solar interior to the corona; (2) investigate the mechanisms of the heating of the outer solar atmosphere; and (3) determine the triggers and onset of solar flares and mass ejections. It was a single-instrument, three-axis stabilized spacecraft which was the first to image an entire cycle of solar activity, studying the Sun at both its turbulent maximum and demure minimum. TRACE captured its last image on June 21, 2010, after harvesting millions of images during its twelve successful years in orbit.

RECENT RETIREES: Samuel E. Archer-Davies, Gerard D. Bellerose, Deborah A. Bittner, Denise C. Brown, Debra L. Chandler, Martha I. Chu, Pamela G. Conrad, Mitchell L. Davis, David A. DiPietro, Daniel J. Duffy, Jr., Carolyn L. Ellenes, Eunice K. Eng, Kathleen Fernandez, Patricia M. Fogleman, Linda A. Greenslade, Jeffrey S. Gum, Nagja Hardy, Michael Hesse, Robert N. Jannone, Gi-Kong Kim, Semion Kizhner, Rebecca J. Knoble, Theodor Kostiuk, Dwaine A. Kronser, Dawn R. Lowe, Thomas M. Macaulay, Naomi Manadier, Jacklyn C. Mattson, Lucy A. McFadden, Dawn M. Murvin, Jolyn R. Nace, Richard Pickering, Michael W. Rackley, Jack E. Richards, Richard H. Schneider, Patrick C. Schwartz, Peter J. Serlemitsos, Susan J. Sekira, Katherine T. Seminara, Billie D. Smith, Brenda L. Talbot, Tom J. Venator, Richard P. Wesenberg, David N. Whiteman, and Mark E. Wilson.

55^th ROBERT H. GODDARD MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM: This year’s symposium, hosted by the American Astronautical Society, was another successful event from the evening of March 7^th through the afternoon of March 9^th. If you were not able to attend or watch the live webcast, all the speakers and sessions were recorded and can be viewed via computer at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc-science-and-exploration.

US NAVY’S TRITON DRONE PROGRAM BYPASSES WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILTY (WFF): A high-profile Navy drone program is heading to Florida instead of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. On February 15^th, Navy officials announced the selection of Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville to host MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft operations on the East Coast. Several business groups and elected officials across the mid-Atlantic had urged the Navy to choose the WFF as the program’s base. The campaign had won the vocal support of the three governors in the region: Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Jack Markell, who was Delaware’s governor when the Navy was undergoing the selection process late last year. Along with Naval Station Mayport and the WFF, the third finalist was Naval Air Station Key West. Since the Navy’s announcement noted that none of the finalists were hindered by environmental issues, management of the WFF and local businesses will continue to pursue potential opportunities that become available in the future.

THOUGHT FOR APRIL: As senior citizens, it is incumbent upon us all to decide that tossing or turning at night must be considered as exercise.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Otto E. Berg, of Frederick, MD, passed away on January 22^nd (just 11 days from reaching his 100^th birthday). He was an Astrophysicist and a “charter member” of Goddard at its conception and an original “rocket scientist” who, back in 1948, was a pioneer in high altitude research using captured Nazi V-2 rockets. His curiosity resulted in the first color photograph of Earth from space, which hangs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. When he came to Goddard, he was assigned to the Astrophysics Branch of the Space Sciences Division in the Office of Spaces Sciences and Satellite Applications. In the early ’70s, he moved to the Laboratory for Space Physics in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate. After retiring, he later held consultant positions at Goddard and other space-related organizations.
• William W. Cooper, of Glenn Dale, MD, passed away on February 27^th. He was a Management Analyst assigned in the ’70s to the Management Services & Supply Division of the Administration & Management Directorate. In the ’80s he was Head of the Administrative Support Branch of the Technical Information & Administrative Support Division of the Management Operations Directorate (MOD). In the early ’90s he worked in the Logistics Management Division of the MOD.
• Martin (Marty) A. Davis, of Chevy Chase, MD, passed away on February 20^th. He was an Electrical Engineer and came to Goddard in 1962 and was first assigned to the Spacecraft Technology Division of the Office of Space Science & Satellite Applications. During the next 16 years, he served as a Power Conversion Engineer and Instrument Systems Manager for such missions as the Atmosphere Explorer-B, Radio Astronomy Explorer, Interplanetary Monitoring Platforms, and International Sun-Earth Explorers. During his nearly 50-year Goddard career, he held numerous and varied assignments, both as an Engineer and as a Senior Manager. For instance, from the late ’70s through 1991 he was an Instrument Systems Manager and Observatory Manager for the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Subsequently, he joined the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) project and became its Project Manager in 1994. He retired in 2009, but continued to work part time in support of review teams for the GOES and MAVEN missions.
• George H. Harris, of Middletown, MD, passed away on February 18^th. He was a Mathematician with Project Vanguard at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, when it transitioned to Goddard shortly after the Center’s founding. He started out working in the Operations & Support Division of the Office of Tracking & Data Systems and quickly became Head of the Applications Satellite Support Section, Spaceflight Branch of the Network Engineering & Operations Division in the same directorate. In the early ’70s, he became Head of the Project Operations Branch of the Mission Operations Division in the Mission & Data Operations Directorate and in the early ’80s became Head of the Mission Operations Division in the same directorate.
• Kathryn M. Isham, of Dunkirk, MD, passed away on March 8^th. She was a Secretary/Administrative Clerk at Goddard. In the ’70s, she worked in the Information Processing Division of the Mission & Data Operations Directorate. In the ’80s and early ’90s, she was Secretary to the Assistant Chief for Operations of the Information Processing Division in the Mission Operations Directorate.
• Harold E. Maurer, of Richmond, VA, passed away on February 12^th. He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard. In the early ’80s, he was assigned to the Wallops Field Development Branch at the WFF of the Instrument Division in the Applications Directorate. He later moved to the Greenbelt campus and in the early ’90s was assigned to the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes in the Earth Sciences Directorate and later to the Space Data & Computing Division in the same directorate.
• Carl O. Roberts, Jr., of New Bern, NC, passed away on March 3^rd. He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard. In the early ’60s, he was assigned to the Manned Flight Operations Division of the Office of Tracking & Data Systems and in the ’70s he worked in the Networks Division of the Networks Directorate. In the early ’80s, he was Associate Chief of the Analysis Integration & Test Division in the same directorate and around 1990 was assigned to the NASA Communications Division of the Mission Operations & Data Systems Directorate. Upon retiring in the mid-’90s he was Director of Telecommunications. During his 30-year career, he played a major role in the Gemini/Agena and Apollo as manager of the development of the ground tracking and communications network, the Apollo tracking ships, and the range instrumentation aircraft. He also managed the development of the Network Operations Control Center and the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite Systems program.
• John H. Wolsh, Jr., of Mount Airy, MD, passed away on February 8^th. He was an Electronics Engineer at Goddard. In the ’60s, he was assigned to the Spacecraft Integration & Sounding Rocket Division in the Office of Space Science & Satellite Applications. In the ’70s, he worked in the Electronics Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate and in the ’80s was assigned to the ERBE Project in the Flight Projects Directorate. In the early ’90s, he was assigned to the Gamma-Ray Observatory Project in the same directorate prior to his retirement.