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

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE, GRAA PRESIDENT: At our March luncheon, we kicked off the celebration of GSFC's 60^th Anniversary by showing a recording of a Center Directors’ Seminar from 30 years ago, moderated by Dr. George Piper. The seminar included a history of how Goddard began, shortly after NASA was created in 1958, and featured talks by Dr. Abe Silverstein, who was instrumental in creating the Center, as well as the first six Center Directors. GSFC, initially named the Beltsville Space Center because it was built on surplus land from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), was renamed GSFC on May 1, 1959. The building was occupied that September and GSFC was dedicated on March 16, 1961. Dr. Silverstein described how the decision to house the civilian space workers, coming from NRL, had to be in the Washington area since that is where they lived, and how he negotiated the deal for 500 acres of land from BARC. Then he selected Harry Goett as the first Center Director (1959-1965) because of his versatility and determination. Goett spoke of his efforts on behalf of the Center’s space scientists and establishing the roles of Program and Project Managers. He created an atmosphere of academia while winning the respect of the academic community. Scientists in Code 600 are still known as laboratory chiefs instead of division chiefs for that reason. John Clark (1965-1976) also spoke about finalizing the NASA HQ/GSFC relationship regarding projects and programs and recalled the many successful large observatories, explorer spacecraft, and the Delta project, all while surviving two Reductions in Force that happened during his 11-year tenure as Center Director. His toughest decision was keeping either Earth observations or Communications, because Goddard was told it could not lead both areas. Bob Cooper (1976-1980) spoke of the preeminence and scientific quality of Goddard and maintaining that capability throughout the tight budget atmosphere and high inflation years of the late 1970s. Tom Young (1980-1982) spoke about GSFC's reputation as a symbol of excellence throughout the world. He learned that to maintain that excellence required that we keep changing things to continue to improve. He also stressed the importance of an in-house capability since it is very difficult to manage something you have never done yourself. Noel Hinners (1982-1987) spoke about the Wallops Island consolidation, the TDRS-1 recovery, and combining Codes 600 and 900. He also mentioned how big of an influence Goddard people have on NASA HQ. Jack Townsend (1987-1990) was the current Center Director at the time of the 30^th Anniversary Seminar, but had been an original Goddard employee, coming to NASA from NRL in 1958 with Homer Newell and John Clark. Newell and Clark went to HQ, but Townsend had the job of bringing GSFC into being, where he brought 46 engineers from his old NRL branch to GSFC, who together with the Vanguard team formed the nucleus of the new facility. After serving as Deputy Center Director for a number of years, being an Assistant Administrator at NOAA, the President of Fairchild, and serving as a consultant to NASA HQ, Townsend finally was able to realize his dream of becoming GSFC's sixth Center Director. Luncheon attendees really enjoyed the flashback to 1989 and seeing and remembering colleagues who led the first half of GSFC's fantastic history to date.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – IT HAPPENED IN APRIL: The Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) was launched on a Delta 3000 rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL, on February 14, 1980. The SMM spacecraft was designed to provide coordinated observations of solar activity, in particular solar flares, during a period of maximum solar activity. The payload consisted of seven instruments, specifically selected to study the short-wavelength and coronal manifestations of flares. While in orbit, the spacecraft suffered a failure and the astronaut crew aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41C), which launched from Cape Canaveral on April 6, 1984, successfully rendezvoused with the SMM and retrieved and repaired the spacecraft. The SMM collected data until November 24, 1989, and re-entered the atmosphere on December 2, 1989.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Ton L. Eng, of Washington, DC, passed away on December 31^st of last year. He initially came to GSFC in early ’61 and was first assigned to the Mechanical Systems Branch in the Satellite Applications Systems Division of the Office of the Assistant Director. In ’63 the division was re-titled to the Spacecraft Integration & Sounding Rocket Division and in ’65 the office was changed to the Technology Directorate. Later in the ’60s and ’70s the organizations to which Mr. Eng was assigned prior to his retirement at the end of ’79 underwent several different title changes.
• Francis J. (Mike) Logan, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on March 3^rd. He initially came to GSFC in early ’61 and was first assigned to the RF Systems Branch of the Tracking System Division in the Office of Tracking & Data Systems where he worked through ’66. In ’67 the organization was re-titled to the STADAN Engineering Division of the same directorate through ’71. In ’72 he was transferred to the Network Engineering Division of the Networks Directorate and then in ’74 was transferred to the Mission Technology Division of the Engineering Directorate and moved again to the Spacecraft Technology Division through ’78, when he transferred to the Network Operations Division in the Networks Directorate. In ’79 he transferred to the Office of Deputy Project Managers/Technical where he supervised several different satellite projects until retiring at the end of ’86.
• Michael C. (Charlie) Shai, of Gambrills, MD, passed away on March 3^rd. He initially came to GSFC as a Chemist in ’69 and was assigned to the Spacecraft Technology Division of the Technology Directorate. In ’72 he was reassigned to the Engineering Physics Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate and then in ’73 he was transferred to the Engineering Services Division of the Engineering Directorate where he remained until his last assignment in the Applied Engineering Division, from which he retired at the end of ’89.

SPECIAL THANK YOU FOR PAM STARLING: The personal contact information included in the GRAA Membership Directory is maintained and provided by Strat Laios and Dave Moulton. Pam Starling has been overseeing and coordinating the near-monthly mailings of the GRAA Newsletter over several years, so in March it fell to her to administer the processing and handling the mailing of the 2019 directory. Pam did an outstanding job coordinating a few volunteers (Tony Comberiate, Jackie Gasch, Barbara Hamilton, Gifford Moak, Dave Moulton, and Bob and Mary Alice Wigand) over two days and they inserted some 2,459 directories and two newsletters (February and March) into envelopes address labels were first affixed to and then later sealed. The task couldn’t have been completed without Pam’s dedication, sense of humor, and strength to transport all the mail bags of envelopes to the USPS Bulk Mail Facility for distribution. We thank all members who volunteered at the last minute to help accomplish this vast effort, but we want to especially thank Pam and provide her with both a “most sincere round of applause” and a “virtual standing ovation.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR GRAA MEMBERS TO VOLUNTEER TO SPEAK ABOUT NASA THIS SUMMER: GRAA members residing within commuting distance of the Grove Family Library in Chambersburg, PA, are encouraged to consider volunteering to speak briefly with young learners (ages 7 to 12) for 30 minutes or so to help inspire them to take an interest in considering aerospace-related jobs in the future. The age group mentioned will meet from 10 to 11 am on Mondays (June 17 and 24 and July 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29), but there will be no commitment to attend all the dates. To volunteer, please contact Melanie Verliin, Youth Services Coordinator, Grove Family Library, Chambersburg, PA, either by telephone at 717-264-9663, ext 1204 or via email at mverliin@fclspa.org.

THOUGHT FOR APRIL: The older we get, fewer things seem worth waiting for by standing in a line.