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

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE AND ARLIN KRUEGER: We hope all of you are well and are able to stay safe in these difficult Covid-19 pandemic times. Goddard remains closed to all but mission-critical personnel, however the Center has moved from Stage 4 to Stage 3 and additional critical activities have been approved this month and more people are allowed on Center, while conforming to strict safety guidelines. In keeping the health and safety of all employees as its highest priority, it is unlikely that all center employees will be able to return to work until a Covid-19 vaccine is available. Consequently, GRAA will not be able to hold our monthly luncheons for the foreseeable future. When we last met, we were in the process of holding our bi-yearly elections. One of our Board members, Strat Laios, was stepping down and Jim Cameron was nominated to run along with the other six members of the board. No other nominations were received by the posted deadline and since there were only seven candidates for seven positions and we cannot meet, the Board presumed those candidates would serve the next term. As per GRAA policy, the board then selected its officers as follows:

• President of the Board - Tony Comberiate
• Vice President - Arlin Krueger
• Secretary - Barbara Hamilton
• Treasurer - Jacqueline Gasch
• Director at Large - Jan Kalshoven
• Director at Large - Ron Muller
• Director at Large - Jim Cameron

The following are some of the activities the Board has been undertaking lately:

We have been making a special effort to inform new retirees of their opportunity to join GRAA by taking part in retirement briefings (virtually now).

We have moved the GRAA website to a commercial host and changed the name to http://GoddardRetirees.org, Please update your browser bookmarks since the old version ( graa.gsfc.nasa.gov) will not be updated. We are seeking volunteers to develop site improvements. All members can access it regularly to keep up with Goddard and GRAA activities.

Newsletter mailings from the Goddard Mailroom are restricted during this pandemic. We would like our members to receive email (vs. mail) newsletters. This would reduce the number of mailings (1100 of our 2400 members) to those who absolutely need them because they do not have access to the Web. We have requested access to the GSFC mailroom to send hard copies to those members, but it might be a while before that is possible.

If you know of any members who are not receiving these email newsletters, please have them send their email address to Jim Cameron at graanewsletter@gmail.com to make sure that they will be getting the Newsletters.

Until we can resume our luncheons, we will continue to update you bimonthly via email.

Best wishes and please be safe.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES — IT HAPPENED IN JULY/AUGUST :

July 15, 2004, Delta-ll launched Aura from the Vandenberg Western Test Range as part of the Earth Observation Program. Aura carried four instruments to study the earth’s atmosphere: High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES). HIRDLS measured the global temperature distribution as well as trace constituents and aerosols in the upper troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. The instrument stopped operating on March 17, 2008 due to failure of the chopper unit. MLS measures stratospheric temperature, ozone, and a host of photochemical constituents that affect ozone, using microwave emissions. OMI maps global ozone and monitors the recovery of ozone after the banning of CFC gases that produced the Antarctic Ozone Hole, monitors volcanic eruptions for aviation safety, and measures sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide air pollution using UV and visible wavelengths. OMI and MLS continue to collect data 16 years later in 2020. TES measured tropospheric ozone and other constituents including ammonia, peroxyacyl nitrate (PAN), and heavy water (HDO) in the infrared. TES collected data until January 31, 2018.

August 25, 1997, Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) was launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket. ACE monitors space weather to improve forecasts and warnings of solar storms from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The four instruments onboard the spacecraft are the Electron, Proton, and Alpha-particle Monitor (EPAM), which measures energetic ions and electrons, the Magnetic Field Monitor (MAG) for magnetic field vectors, the Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) for high energy particle fluxes, and the Solar Wind Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM) for measuring solar wind ions.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from Don Eckel (in memory of Virgil True), William C. Bryant (in memory of Jim Cooley), Mary A. Carper (in memory of Richard (Dick) Carper), and Regina J. Cody.