G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD 20703-0163
| July 2009 | http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov | 25th Year of Publication |
IMPORTANT DATES:
| July 14 | Mark your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Reservations are required, so call Alberta Moran at 301-890-0544 no later than noon on Friday, July 10th. Please attend and welcome the 2009 Class of NASA Academy interns. We expect the interns to summarize their academic backgrounds and provide a peek into their summer projects. We may also be treated to a Goddard rendition of “Oh yeah, I remember it well” sung by Bill and Priscilla Struthers and have Goddard artifacts available to share with the interns. |
| August 11 | Mark your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. |
| December 11 | Mark your calendar for the annual “Magic of a Musical Christmas” to Lancaster, PA. We’ll have more details in the August issue, but you can sign up now or obtain additional information by contacting Alberta Moran at 301-890-0544. |
COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Frank (Cepi) Cepollina provided a most insightful understanding of the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope while demonstrating his innovation and passion for spacecraft and instrument system architecture. Cepi has led Goddard’s repair and servicing team beginning with the Multi-Mission Modular Spacecraft and repair of the Solar Maximum spacecraft. He credited Joe Purcell, former Goddard Director of Engineering, for his vision in advocating modular design for Hubble and other space assets which lend themselves to on-orbit repair and service. This last Hubble mission was the most complex and successful of the five servicing missions and left it in good condition to provide high grade science for many years. Instruments were replaced or upgraded, new gyros were added, and the 350 amp battery was replaced with 510 amps. Cepi strongly urged modularity in future space systems design to allow robotic servicing if humans cannot access these valuable assets.
We’ve linked with the NASA Alumni League at Hqs to access their “white papers” for review and comment. I’ll notify members on our e-mail distribution list when there is material of interest (so contact Strat Laios at stratlaios@verizon.net if you want to start receiving the newsletter via e-mail). Currently, we can follow progress of the Human Space Flight Review Committee, which began June 17th and is chaired by Norm Augustine, in identifying options for human space flight. Information about the review committee is available at http://hsf.nasa.gov and committee meetings may be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/nasatelevision.
GODDARD’S 50th ANNIVERSARY: There have been multiple 50th Anniversary events during the past few weeks. “An Evening Celebration of Five Decades” was a highlight with good food, fellowship, dancing, and entertainment by Patti LaBelle. Nine hundred folks attended the gala at the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC). This was preceded earlier in the day by “Maryland’s Place in Space,” also at the BCC, which featured space-related activities throughout Maryland. Displays of several ongoing Goddard projects (e.g., JWST, LRO, and HST) were showcased, along with appearances by Astronauts Ricky Arnold and Don Thomas.
A celebration of spinoffs from Goddard-sponsored research took place at the Visitor Center, where five decades of technology transfer were highlighted. One example of Goddard research spun off to a commercial product was displayed for each decade. Aluminized Mylar blankets from ECHO and spacecraft thermal insulation in the ‘60s are now part of human survival kits. Black and Decker representatives described how they developed cordless drills for Apollo lunar exploration, which led to a vast array of battery-operated tools in the ‘70s. Tiny miniaturized fluid control systems (‘80s) were the basis for implantable medication systems (e.g., insulin pumps). A compound developed for spacecraft heat transfer in the ‘90s led to additives that are now used in refrigeration systems to increase efficiency. Earth remote sensing is being applied to hierarchical segment software to differentiate specific, difficult-to-see, details in medical imaging (‘00s). Margie Townsend gave a presentation on June 26th describing her experiences as NASA’s first female project manager. Robert (Hutch) Hutchison will provide a briefing on August 28th describing his experience in staffing Goddard as its first Personnel Director.
REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:
Richard N. (Dick) Crone, of Dagsboro, DE, passed away on May 27th after a lengthy illness. A former physics teacher in Nebraska and Virginia, Dick was a Public Affairs Specialist during his career at Goddard.
Freda M. Long, of Leonardtown, MD, passed away on May 23rd. While at Goddard, Freda worked as a Secretary in the Antenna Systems Branch and the NCC Systems Engineering Branch.
John F. South, of Defuniak Springs, FL, passed away on April 3rd. John was a Physicist and Station Director of the Network Test and Training Facility in Greenbelt as well as the ground station in Quito, Ecuador, and other NASA sites. After retiring, he and his wife owned and operated an antique shop in Defuniak Springs.
George R. Woods, of Keyser, WV, passed away on May 8th. A WWII veteran, George worked as a Mechanic during his career at Goddard.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Bob Wigand reports that tax-deductible contributions were received from the following members: Dave Douds, Howard Ottenstein, Joe (Bill) Pohl, Tom Ryan, Bob Segal, Mike Tasevoli, and Chuck Woodyard. Please keep in mind that GRAA welcomes tax-deductible contributions at any time. In addition, we are in need of bequests for our endowment fund to protect against further Goddard budget cuts and to enhance charitable space-related support activities.
RECENT RETIREES: Elizabeth B. Flowers, Kathryn K. Hanlon, Carolyn A. Humphrey, Michael L. Kaiser, Carey F. Lively, David C. Pfenning, Glenn P. Stewart, Gloria J. Sullivan, Josephine L. Triplett, and Tammy Wang.
FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – IT HAPPENED IN JULY: A Delta rocket launched the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) 1 or A (later renamed Landsat 1) on July 23, 1972. In 1976, Landsat 1 discovered a tiny uninhabited island off the eastern coast of Canada. The island was thereafter designated as Landsat Island after the satellite. To date, it is the only island to be discovered via satellite imagery.
COPIES OF “READ YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!” STILL AVAILABLE: We still have copies of the Story of NASA’s Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network. If you’d like to be sent a copy, send a check for $5.00 (to cover postage) to our Lanham address. If you want to pick up a copy at the July luncheon, send an e-mail to Strat Laios (stratlaios@verizon.net) and ask him to reserve a copy for you.
ALBERTA LOOKING FOR PULSE: Alberta Moran is considering a one-day trip (dinner, racing and slots) to Charlestown, WV, in the September timeframe. She is currently pulsing members to determine the level of interest in this potential excursion, so please contact her at 301-890-0544 and let her know your desire to sign up.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.