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

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE AND ARLIN KRUEGER:

Our January talk by Michelle Thaller, Goddard astrophysicist and science communicator, was rescheduled due to caution about possible Covid virus exposures. You may have seen Michelle on NASA TV covering the successful James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) launch and deployment on the way to L2 orbit. She will return later this year to talk about the science goals of Webb. Instead of the January talk, we showed a NASA video, “This Year at NASA,” highlighting the many achievements in 2021: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/video/nhq_2021_1221_tyn_1.mp4. Additional podcasts of NASA events are at: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13498 and https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/twan_index.html.

2021 was an amazing year for Goddard with the launches of Lucy to the Trojan asteroids in Jupiter’s orbit, Landsat 9 to extend the five-decade agricultural record, IXPE to study the polarization of X-ray sources, and the Webb Space Telescope. ESA/Arianespace’s ‘perfect’ launch will enable Webb’s life-limiting fuel supply to last for more than 20 years (well beyond its 10-year design). We also showed videos of the Webb launch and deployment sequence (see e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ihVeEoUdo).

ELECTION OF GRAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

If you value GRAA and its contributions to maintaining Goddard’s legacy, please consider volunteering your talents to this cause. Serving on the Board is one of several ways to do this. Candidates living within commuting distance of the Greenbelt campus may nominate themselves (or another willing member) to be included on the ballot. Please email graalunch@gmail.com or call (240) 720-7833 no later than February 22nd. The March Newsletter will list the nominees and include a ballot, which can either by emailed to graalunch@gmail.com or mailed to Goddard Retiree and Alumni Association P.O. Box 1184, Greenbelt, MD 20768-1184. In-person voting will take place at the April monthly GRAA luncheon. Results will be reported in the May Newsletter.

LETTERS FROM OUR MEMBERS:

If you would like to update other GRAA members on what’s happening in your retirement, e.g., latest job, special travel, if you moved, etc., send us a note at graanewsletter@gmail.com and we will include a short note (space permitting) in this newsletter.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Charles Bland, Jr.,"Bud", 88, of Huntingtown, Maryland passed away on December 4, 2021. He was born December 29, 1932 in Benbush, West Virginia. Charles was drafted into the Air Force, where he met his wife, and served for 4 years. After serving in the Air Force, he went back to finish his apprenticeship at the Navy Yard. He then worked at Goddard from 1962-1979 and at night ran his business, Engineering Plastics, Inc. for 58 years. He finally retired at the age of 85.
• Alvin Carlton Jones “Deac”, 72, passed away suddenly on December 4, 2021. Deac was born October 29, 1949. He graduated from Fairmount Heights High School and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education at Bowie State University in 1974. Deac was employed at Goddard Space Flight Center as a data analyst. He had also worked as a physical education teacher at Walker Mill Junior High School and taught tennis at various clubs in the Baltimore area and privately elsewhere. He was a former member of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
• Francis Landis Markley, Jr., 82, passed away on December 5, 2021. Francis was born in Philadelphia on July 20, 1939. He was an Engineering Physics major at Cornell University (B.E.P. 1962), after which he studied Theoretical Physics at the University of California at Berkeley, receiving a Ph.D. in 1967. In 1974 he began a career in Aerospace as a member of the technical staff of the Computer Science Corporation’s Attitude Systems Operation in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he was responsible for designing and implementing a real-time dynamic simulator and for developing and testing prototype onboard attitude determination and control software for the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) spacecraft on that platform. He joined the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., in 1978, where he was the principal investigator in a study of autonomous satellite sensor systems and their use in determining the attitude/orbit state of a satellite or constellation of satellites. In 1985, he moved to Goddard, where he worked for 23 years, beginning as an Aerospace engineer in the Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch. From 1986-1988, he led the Mathematical Analysis Section and moved to the Guidance and Control Branch in 1989, serving as the Head of the Control System Software and Simulation Section. From 1990-1994, he was Assistant Head of the Guidance and Control Branch. During his time at Goddard, Dr. Markley supported numerous missions, including: Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX), Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), Laser Interferometer for Space Astronomy (LISA), Space Technology-7 (ST-7), several of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) missions, and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In 2000, he was named a Goddard Senior Fellow.
• Joseph Frank Noto, 86, of Reisterstown, MD passed away on January 2, 2022 at home, surrounded by family, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Joseph was born on October 17, 1935 in New York, NY. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Fordham University and joined the ROTC. He then joined the United States Airforce as a 2nd lieutenant in the Airforce Physics Division. His responsibilities included being a physicist and director of research. He was stationed in New Mexico. He then moved to Maryland to start a job at Westinghouse. During the summers, Joe worked part time at Goddard Space Center for several years. He always enjoyed learning about space and flying.
• Herb Gillis, 90, passed away on January 4, 2022. Herb was born in Philadelphia on June 3, 1931 and earned a bachelor of arts in physics in 1953 from Temple University and a master of science in physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. Herb proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1956. He attended officer candidate school and became a lieutenant, serving on the aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Leyte. Herb’s job experience included several years at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) as an engineer, working in applied mathematics and computer programming. The highlight of his career was working as a mathematician at Goddard. His work included engineering and physics applications for satellites as well as advanced computer programming in the early stages of that field. In 1970, he wrote a book for NASA entitled, A General Computer Data Processing System: Documentation of the ATS-5 Ground Station Magnetometer Program. His work was a source of dedication and honor for him, and he kept copies of his book by his side even into his older age.
• Saunders Bernard Kramer, Jr. "Sandy", 60, of Silver Spring, MD, died January 7, 2022. Born Nov. 23, 1962 in Mountain View, CA, he graduated from Gaithersburg High School and earned a Bachelor of Science, Physical Sciences, from the University of Maryland in December of 1987 and a Master of Science in Computer Systems Management from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in December 2001. Sandy inherited a love of the space program from his late father Saunders Bernard Kramer, Sr. He spent his entire career supporting the computer and information system needs of the Space and Exploration Directorate at Goddard. For 22 years, he was a senior systems administrator implementing network and security policy and advising the lab on related issues. The lab will remember Sandy's years of expert assistance and his ongoing support to magnetometer operations aboard the Voyager spacecraft. An avid motorcyclist, he was an active member of the Concourse Owners Group, a sport touring club.
• Dr. Michael R. Collier, 55, passed away on January 9, 2022, after a battle with cancer. He was a 1984 graduate of Loyola Blakefield and went on to earn a Bachelor’s (1988, summa cum laude), Master’s (1990) and PhD (1993) in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Michael worked for over 25 years as an astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where he made significant scientific contributions in the understanding of solar wind, lunar environment, and physics of the heliosphere, terrestrial magnetosphere, and outer planets. His contributions were recognized in 1998 and 2001 with NASA Group Achievement Awards, and the R.H. Goddard Award in 2015. From 2014 to 2019, Michael also taught physics as an Adjunct Professor at Prince George's Community College. In 2017, Michael married Sandra, the love of his life. Together they enjoyed travel, the performing arts, hiking, and Baltimore Orioles baseball. Michael will be remembered as a cherished friend and colleague who approached all challenges with humor, kindness, and resilience.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES — IT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY:

February 2, 1965, Delta launched OSO - B2. This spacecraft which was originally designated OSO - B was badly damaged when it was mounted on the third stage live rocket motor in spin balance at KSC. On April 14, 1964, static electricity ignited the rocket motor and launched the attached OSO - B into the building's roof killing three technicians. The spacecraft was repaired with spare parts and launched the following year as OSO- B2.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from: Peter Hui, E.J. Danko, Robert & Patricia Mackey, John Millman, Paul Hwang, and Frank Ottens.