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

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE AND ARLIN KRUEGER: I hope all of you are well and are able to stay safe in these difficult Covid-19 pandemic times. GRAA has been unable to hold monthly meetings or mail any hardcopy newsletters (which are mailed through the Center) since March. In conformance with NASA and Goddard’s safety policies, the Center has been closed to all but essential employees, although office work continues using remote VPN access to on-Center resources and colleagues, and through meetings held with WebEx and other tools. Goddard had already been moving toward work from home days, and this episode is a test of the limits of virtual work-space policies. Even social events are held, such as Jim Iron’s virtual Happy Hours in the Earth Sciences Directorate.

Goddard has been in Stage 4, where only mission-critical personnel have been allowed on center. Recently, NASA HQ has approved a Return to Site plan, and some prioritized work at the Center is now allowed. Center leadership remains committed to protecting the health and safety of all employees, and a slow ramp-up of on-site work with the proper precautions in place is being discussed.

As this ramp-up occurs, we realize that our GRAA members are typically in a Covid-19 higher risk category and we must ensure that there is a safe environment before resuming our normal monthly meetings and mailings. To that regard, we have cancelled our June and July meetings but remain hopeful that we might resume meeting in August. In this email, we are including the latest information about our members that we typically include in the Newsletter. Although, we would like to go to an electronic only Newsletter, we realize that a number of our members do not have access to email and have requested a hard copy. To that effect, when normal GRAA activities resume, we plan to send a hard copy Newsletter to those members that we can’t reach at this time, and to update them on what’s been happening. At that time, we will also resume other normal activities and hold the election of GRAA officers, which had to be delayed due to these unusual circumstances.

In the meanwhile, we hope that hard copy readers will access the Newsletter through the new GRAA website: http://GoddardRetirees.org

This new website was created by Jim Cameron, our long-time website curator, who retired from Goddard in January. He continues to manage the website but now using a commercial web host.

Until we resume our luncheons, best wishes and please be safe.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES — IT HAPPENED IN MAY: Explorer 53 (aka: Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS 3) was the third in the series of small spacecraft the objectives of which were to survey the celestial sphere for sources radiating in the X-ray gamma-ray, UV, and other spectral regions. The primary missions of SAS 3 were to measure the X-ray emission of discrete extragalactic sources, to monitor the intensity and spectra of galactic X-ray sources from 0.2 to 60 keV, and to monitor the X-ray intensity of Scorpio X-1. The spacecraft was launched by a Scout rocket on May 7, 1975, from the San Marco platform off the coast of Kenya, Africa into a near-circular, equatorial orbit. The spacecraft contained four instruments: the Extragalactic Experiment, the Galactic Monitor Experiment, the Scorpio Monitor Experiment, and the Galactic Absorption Experiment.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES — IT HAPPENED IN JUNE: The Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) was a joint German, US and British X-ray astrophysics project. ROSAT carried a German-built imaging X-ray Telescope (XRT) with three focal plane instruments: two German Position Sensitive Proportional Counters (PSPC) and the US-supplied High Resolution Imager (HRI). ROSAT’s unique strengths were high Spectral resolution, low-background, soft X-ray imaging for the study of the structure of low surface brightness features, and for low-resolution spectroscopy. The ROSAT mission was divided into two phases. After a two-month on-orbit calibration and verification period, an all-sky was performed for six months using the PSPC in the focus of the XRT, and in two XUV bands using Wide Field Camera. The second phase consisted of the remainder of the mission and was devoted to pointed observations of selected astrophysical sources. In ROSAT’s pointed phase, observing time was allocated to Guest Investigators from all three participating countries through peer review of submitted proposals. ROSAT had a design life of 18 months, but was expected to operate beyond its nominal lifetime. The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, FL by a Delta II rocket on June 6, 1990.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from Edward J. Danko (in memory of Mark Stokrp), Peggie Gessner, Glenn W. Harris, Ellen L. Herring, Ann Karpiscak, David Manges, Raymond Mazur, Waltrud McCaslin (in memory of Sherman McCaslin), Thomas A. Page (in memory of Sybille Page), Patricia A. Peddicord (in memory of Jack Peddicord), Thomas Underwood, and Charles E. Woodyard.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Leroy Brown, Jr., of Takoma Park, MD passed away on April 4^th. He was hired by GSFC in 1963 as a Computer Engineer and initially assigned to the Space Data Acquisition Division of the Office of Tracking & Data Systems. He was listed in the ’64 phone book as having transferred again to the Network Engineering & Operations Division and transferred yet again to the Project Operations Support Division in the ’65 phone book. Due to some questionable error made with regard to how the phone books continued to list his career reassignments, the result turned out to having removed him from the phone books for years. Unfortunately, it was not until ’93 that his name was restored to the several phone books that included the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Project that was added to three years of phone books until he opted to retire in ’98.
• Carolyn C. Jones, of Pocomoke City, MD passed away on March 30^th. She had served as President of the American Federation of Government Employees Union #1081 from 1976 through 1984. Prior to ’82, management of the Wallops Flight Center (WFC) basically came under the management auspices of the Langley Research Center (LRC) and plans at the time were being reestablished to change some of the management structure to GSFC and change the title to the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). After plans were agreed to and new positions created, Carolyn was assigned to a new position in the Operation Division and she continued working at WFF until she retired in ’95.
• James L. (Jim) Cooley, of Silver Spring, MD passed away on April 28^th. He was hired by GSFC in 1963 as a Mathematician and Aerospace Engineer in the System Analysis Office of the Office of Tracking & Data Systems managed by a GSFC Assistant Director where he remained through ’66. In ’67 he transferred to the Mission & Trajectory Analysis Division until ’83 and the directorate title was changed to the Mission & Data Operations Directorate in the early ’70s. In ’76 he transferred to the newly titled Mission Support Computing & Analysis Division through ’83. He then transferred to the Flight Dynamics Division in ’85 and remained there and apparently chose to retire in ’96. His 34-year legacy of providing orbital mechanics to GSFC satellites assisted greatly with monitoring and warning of weather dangers.
• Paul Karpiscak, of Olney, MD passed away on April 10^th. He was hired by GSFC as an Engineer in 1962 and initially assigned to the Office of Space Sciences & Satellite Applications in the Spacecraft Systems & Project Division. In ’65 he was reassigned to the Goddard Launch Operations Division of the Projects Directorate and in ’67 was reassigned to the Systems Division of the Technology Directorate and remained there through ’70. In ’71 he was reassigned to the Communications & Navigation Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate through ’73. In ’74 he transferred to the Mission Technology Division of the Engineering Directorate through ’79 and then to the Instrument Division through ’89. He then apparently opted to retire in early ’90. In the late ’50s, he had worked on Project Vanguard at the US Naval Research Laboratory, the Martin Company as prime contractor, and later GSFC once NASA was conceived.
• James A. (Jimmy) Mullins, of Clermont, FL passed away on May 7^th. He was hired by GSFC as an Engineer in 1969 and initially assigned to the Systems Division of the Technology Directorate through ’70. In ’71 he was reassigned to the Engineering Physics Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate and moved to the Communications & Navigation Division in ’72. In ’73 he transferred to the Engineering Physics Division and in ’74 he moved to the Engineering Services Division through ’88. In ’89 & ’90 he moved to the Applied Engineering Division and from ’91 through ’94 he was reassigned to the Mechanical Systems D ivision and retired the last day of March ’95.
• John J. (Jack) Over, Jr, of Marinette, WI passed away on April 7^th. He was initially hired by GSFC as an Electrical Engineer in 1962 in the Aeronomy & Meteorology Division of the Office of Space Science & Satellite Applications through ’65. In ’66 he was transferred to the Operational Satellites Office of the Projects Directorate. There was no change in his assignments through ’75, but in ’76 he transferred to the Earth Observations Systems Division of the Applications Directorate through late ’79 and then transferred back to the Applications Systems Analysis Office through ’81. In ’82 he transferred to the Earth Survey Applications Division and remained there through ’84. The Applications Directorate changed its title in ’85 to the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate and he apparently decided to retire in ’85.
• Roger B. Ratliff, of Seabrook, MD passed away on May 9^th. His work with the Space Program included Project Vanguard from ’55 to ’59, Project Relay from ’61 to ’64, and the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) from ’66 to ’74. He was hired by GSFC as an Engineer and initially assigned to the Spacecraft & Satellite Applications through ’65 and then transferred to the ATS Project in the Projects Directorate until ’67. In ’68 he transferred to the Systems Division of the Technology Directorate. In ’70 he transferred to the Communications & Navigation Division of the same directorate and changed its title to the Space Applications & Technology Directorate through ’73. In ’74 he was transferred to the Mission Technology Division of the Engineering Directorate. In ’76 he transferred to the Spacecraft Technology Division and split his time to work on the TIROS Project and also continued to work on the TIROS Project through ’80. In ’82 he was reassigned to the Instrument Division through ’92. He apparently opted to retire in ’93 since his name was no longer entered in GSFC’s yearly phone books. The highlight of his career was his work on Project COBE, where he served as Microwave Specialist for the Differential Microwave Radiometer.
• George B. (Smitty) Smith, of Bowie, MD passed away on March 19^th. He was hired by GSFC in 1963 as an Engineering Technician and initially assigned to the Test & Evaluation Division of the Office of Technical Services (the title of which was changed in ’65 to the Systems Reliability Directorate) and he worked there through ’76. In ’77 the Systems Reliability Directorate was changed to the Office of Flight Assurance and switched to the Engineering Directorate where it was added to the Engineering Services Division and he retired in ’80. In addition to his work-related endeavors, he was a talented member of the Goddard Slow-Pitch Softball Association (GSPSA), a member of the GSPSA Hall of Fame, and a member of the GSPSA Umpire Association.
• Mark Stokrp, of Chambersburg, PA passed away on April 23^rd. He was hired by GSFC in 1967 and initially assigned to the Manned Flight Operations Division of the Manned Flight Support Directorate through ’71 based on his prior military-related assignments in the US Air Force and Federal Aviation Agency experience as a control tower operator while stationed in South Korea. In ’72 the directorate title was changed to the Networks Directorate and he was reassigned to the Networks Operations Division through ’83. In ’85 he transferred to the Networks Division of the Mission Operations & Data Systems Directorate until ’90 and then was selected as Branch Head of the Network Operations Branch through ’93 until he opted to retire in ’94.
• Marvin (Popi) Swartz, formerly of Silver Spring, MD passed away on March 8^th. He was hired by GSFC as a Solar Physicist in 1966 and initially assigned to the Laboratory for Space Sciences in the Space Sciences Directorate. In ’71, he was transferred to the Laboratory for Solar Physics. In ’74 the lab’s title was changed to the Laboratory for Solar Physics & Astrophysics and the directorate changed to the Sciences Directorate in ’77. In ’81 the Laboratory for Astronomy & Solar Physics was introduced and in ’85 the directorate title was changed to the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate for a few years and then was switched back to the Sciences Directorate. In ’05 the Directorate was changed to the Sciences & Exploration Directorate and the Laboratory was changed again to the Laboratory for Solar & Space Physics and Marvin opted to retire in ’06.