G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and
Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163,
Lanham, MD 20703-0163
MAY 2008 http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov 24th Year of
Publication
IMPORTANT DATES:
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May
13
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Mark
your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30
a.m. We are planning to
present a video that features an exclusive tour of Goddard Space
Flight Center
that aired last month on WETA. The program
follows the Center’s major achievements in space flight, explores the ins and
outs of a space mission, and spotlights the extensive and impressive team
behind it all. You won’t want to miss
viewing this excellent video! Reservations
are required, so contact Alberta
Moran at 301-937-7762 no later than noon
on Friday, May 9th.
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June 10
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Mark your calendar for the GRAA
Luncheon at 11:30 a.m.
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Late August or early September
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To whet your appetite for a fantastic summer vacation, Alberta Moran is offering up a cruise from Montreal. Fly from Baltimore
to Montreal; then cruise to the Atlantic Provinces of Canada,
Bar Harbor, ME,
and Boston, MA;
then fly back to Baltimore. Alberta will provide more information for
next month’s newsletter; however, if interested in joining this adventure,
contact Alberta
(301-937-7762) to be placed on the mailing list for detailed plans.
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COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Craig Tooley,
Goddard’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Project Manager, provided an
informative overview of the project to attendees at the April luncheon. This is the first US mission to extend human presence
in the solar system, beginning with a return to the moon. The mission’s objective is to create an atlas
of the moon’s features and resources.
The LRO is a Goddard in-house project that has been developed from
concept to launch in three years. An
Atlas V 401 rocket will launch the LRO on a four-day trip to polar lunar orbit,
where it will map the moon’s features from 50 kilometers for at least one
year. Six onboard instruments will take
images (with one-meter resolution) and collect data on surface composition for
use in identifying sites for safe human return to the moon. Most of the subsystems have already been
integrated into the spacecraft.
Environmental testing starts in mid-summer, with launch scheduled later
in the year. Data will be collected over
Ka band at a dedicated 18-meter antenna at White Sands, NM. The LRO demonstrates the Goddard “can do” capability
we all fondly remember from earlier in-house projects. You can learn more about the LRO Project at
http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov.
On April 3rd, I was privileged to attend
the 25th anniversary celebration of TDRS-1 operations in Las Cruces, NM. There were many old timers from NASA, TRW,
and the White Sands Ground Terminal telling “war stories,” renewing bygone
days, and marveling at the continued usage of TDRS-1, which now provides
communications support for science activity in Antarctica.
TREASURER’S
REPORT: Bob Wigand reports that tax-deductible
contributions were received from the following members: Mary Adkins, Dan and Catherine Dembrow, Dave
Douds, Bob and Laura Eaves, Jim Gavura, Joan Schembri, Ken Rosette, Mary Trainor, and Jim Vette.
ROAD
CLEANUP: In March, five volunteers (Henry Maurer, Hugh
O’Donnell, Ewald Schmidt, Mark Silverstein, and Bob Wigand) cleaned up the roadsides on
Goddard’s eastern boundary.
GRAA MAILINGS: If you no longer wish to
receive GRAA mailings, please send a note to our Lanham address or an e-mail to
Dave Moulton at davidlmoulton@comcast.net.
If you have moved or want to make corrections to the address on your
mailing label, write us or send an e-mail to Strat Laios at
stratlaios@comcast.net. If you already
receive your newsletter via e-mail, please let Strat know when your e-mail address
changes. If you are interested in
receiving the newsletter by e-mail, simply notify Strat.
THOUGHT
FOR THE MONTH: Artificial
intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
FROM
THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN MAY:
§ May 30, 1974: Titan II launched Applications Technology
Satellite-6 (or ATS-F), part of the series of satellites designed to explore
and flight-test new technologies and techniques for communications, navigation,
and weather satellites. In addition to
its technology experiments, ATS-F became the world’s first educational
satellite. During its 5-year life, it
transmitted educational programming to the US,
India,
and other countries.
REMEMBERING
OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:
§
Hilton G. (Hup) Damare, of Ormond Beach, FL,
passed away on April 4th at age 82.
A veteran of World War II, his professional experience as a Physicist and
Engineer included research at USDA, several space-related private corporations,
and NASA (Santa Monica, CA,
and Greenbelt, MD).
He made significant contributions to the design and development of
numerous satellite projects, to include TDRSS, ERTS, and Nimbus.
§
Edward L. Rosette, of Bradenton,
FL, passed away on March 15th
at age 100. In the 1930’s, he worked as
a Machinist and later project manager of shipboard weapons systems at the Naval
Gun Factory in Washington, DC. Along
the way he received an accounting degree and transferred to Goddard in 1962,
where he served as Contract Negotiator for the Nimbus and TIROS projects, and
retired in 1972 as Head of the Negotiations Branch.
§
Charles Tulip, Jr., of Chester, MD,
passed away from a heart attack on March 17th. His NASA career started at Headquarters in
1960. He later transferred to Goddard,
retiring as Chief Financial Officer in 1999.
§
Meredith Wilson, of Castle Rock, CO, passed away on December 3rd, 2007. At Goddard, he worked on numerous satellite
projects.
SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL SEEKS
VOLUNTEERS: The Smithsonian’s Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage needs capable and enthusiastic volunteers
before, during, and after its annual Folklife Festival, to be held outdoors on
the National Mall in Washington,
DC, from June 25th to
29th, and from July 2nd to 6th. This year’s schedule of programs includes NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond, a
celebration of NASA’s 50th Anniversary. The NASA program will include hands-on
educational activities, demonstrations of skills and knowledge, narrative “oral
history” sessions, and exhibits that will explore the spirit of innovation,
discovery, and service embodied by the agency and its personnel. Volunteers are critical to the success of the
Festival and work closely with Smithsonian staff as well as Festival
participants of varied backgrounds. If
you would like to volunteer your time and talents, please complete and submit the
volunteer questionnaire on-line at
http://www.folklife.si.edu/opportunities/volunteer.html or contact Amy Garrett,
Volunteer Coordinator, at garrettamy@si.edu or 202-633-6484 with questions or for
assistance in obtaining a questionnaire if you do not have Internet access.
ELECTION BALLOT FOR GRAA BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
If you wish to
vote for one or more of the nominees listed below, carefully circle your
selected name(s). You may also
nominate yourself or other GRAA members as write-in candidates. You may vote for a maximum of seven
nominees (listed and write-ins).
Please print your name in the space provided below and return the
ballot to GRAA, P.O. Box 163,
Lanham, MD 20703-0163
so as to arrive by June 6th.
Your
Name______________________________________
Dick
Baker Write-in
Nominee__________________________________
Ron
Browning
Charlie
Boyle Write-in
Nominee__________________________________
Barbara
Hamilton
Strat
Laios Write-in
Nominee__________________________________
Dave
Moulton
Bob
Wigand Write-in
Nominee__________________________________
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GRAA MEMBER AUTHORS
SPY STORY: Member Bob Huddleston
has written Edmundo, a biography of
Edmundo Lassalle, a Mexican who came to the US
in 1935 to attend Columbia University, married the daughter of a college dean,
and became a student/teacher at the University
of California. He became a US
citizen and an assistant to Nelson Rockefeller, then a member of the Roosevelt
Administration before becoming an espionage agent in Spain while employed under cover as
the European Representative of the Walt Disney Company. At the end of the World War II, he divorced
his first wife in order to marry a German princess whose father was an early
supporter of Adolf Hitler. Later, he
divorced the princess to marry the first of two wealthy American heiresses. Financially secure, Edmundo took up residence
in Manhattan to
devote his time and talents to the preservation of ancient monuments around the
world. In 1974, divorced from his fourth
wife and failing in health, he took his own life in London.
Bob is making copies of the intriguing book available to GRAA members at
the discounted price of $12.00 (postage included). Just send your check to Robert Huddleston,
131 Carolina Meadows Villa, Chapel Hill, NC 27517. You’ll have to purchase a copy to find out
the reason Bob selected Edmundo Lassalle as the subject of his first attempt at
non-fiction.
