G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD 20703-0163
| May 2009 | http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov | 25th Year of Publication |
IMPORTANT DATES:
|
May 12
June 9 |
Mark your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Peter Hughes, Goddard's Chief Technologist, will be our guest speaker. His presentation topic is “Stimulating Innovation and New Business at Goddard with Research and Technology.” Reservations are required, so call Alberta Moran at 301-890-0544 no later than noon on Friday, May 8th. Mark your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. |
COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT : Dr. Stephen Maran, Astronomer and noted author (including the best-selling “Astronomy for Dummies”), provided an enjoyable and informative talk that qualified April luncheon attendees as official astronomy dummies. He described how Galileo started out essentially as a contractor and first used his telescope as a military tool to spot enemy ships and later turned the telescope skyward to gaze at planets and moons. The thinking at the time was that all planets and moons were perfect spherical heavenly bodies without flaws. We now know that there is constant bombardment from cosmic rays, solar winds and meteorites that alter their shape and surface. Dr. Maran noted that Goddard's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scheduled for launch in June, will contain an Ames-provided projectile that will be hurled at the moon for the LRO and ground-based telescopes to observe its impact. He also showed images of Saturn and its immediate environment, first observed as a disk by Galileo and recently by Hubble as having very distinct rings of moons and objects being pulled and broken up by SaturnÆs gravitational pull.
GODDARD'S 50th ANNIVERSARY: Major events are planned for May. On Thursday, May 7th, there is an Employee and Retiree Town Hall meeting in the Building 3 Auditorium from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. with former Center Directors (Tom Young, Jack Townsend, Joe Rothenberg, and Al Diaz) and current Center Director Rob Strain discussing Goddard's successful past and exciting future. GRAA is providing coffee and pastries for this event and it is recommended that members planning to attend arrive early to secure a seat.
Saturday, May 30th, has two major events at the Baltimore Convention Center. “Maryland's Place in Space,” from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., will showcase science and technology activities at Goddard, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, NOAA, the University of Maryland, and industry from throughout Maryland and is open to the public. “An Evening Celebration of Five Decades,” from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., will conclude the dayÆs spotlight on Goddard by commemorating 50 years of exploration and discovery. This event is open to Goddard employees, retirees, alumni and their guests. Dinner, cocktails and music will be provided, as well as videos of historical images and stories that GRAA has helped gather. Tickets ($45.00 per person) may be purchased at the GEWA Store and at the May GRAA Luncheon.
Members still have some time to forward their experience synopses, stories, and photographs to phillina.peetetookes-1@nasa.gov to be included on Goddard's 50th Anniversary web site. Questions to be answered in member synopses were included in the April issue newsletter.
GRAA MEMBER OFFERS DISCOUNT ON BOOKS: Member Joseph W. (Bill) Pohl, who owns Eagle Publishing Company of Boca, is offering GRAA members a generous discount on the firm's available titles. You can order “Guiding Those Left Behind” for $25.00 with free shipping, which is a guide for settling the estate of a loved one and learning how to protect your assets and avoiding probate; “A Will is Not Enough” for $25.00 with free shipping, which provides guidance for estate planning and qualifying for Medicare; and “Guardian Angel/Guardian Devil” for $25.00 and free shipping, which provides guidance about establishing or avoiding guardianship. The retail price for each book is $35.00 plus $5.99 shipping. Buy all three books for $75.00 and free shipping and youll also be sent a copy of “How to Defend Against Your Lawyer.” To order, send a check to Eagle Publishing Company of Boca, 4199 Dixie Highway, Suite #2, Boca Raton, FL 33431.
REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:
• Joan P. Baylor, of Camp Springs, MD, passed away on December 31st of last year. Joan served in various secretarial and administrative support functions during her career at Goddard.
• Joseph G. Bunevitch, of Silver Spring, MD (and formerly of Bowie, MD), passed away on January 31st.
• Erwin Hirschmann, of Salt Lake City, UT, passed away on January 1st. Among several assignments during his Goddard career, he worked in the Office of Tracking and Data Systems and in the Instrument Division of the Engineering Directorate.
• Erik L. Mollo-Christensen, of Lexington, MA, passed away on February 20th. Among several assignments while at Goddard, he was Chief of the Laboratory for Oceans and Associate Director for Science in the Earth Sciences Directorate.
• James W. Pusey, of Laurel, DE, passed away on April 7th. He retired as a heavy-equipment operator at the Wallops Flight Facility.
• H. Ronald Surgen, of New Carrollton, MD, passed away on April 17th. During several assignments at Goddard, he worked in the Network Logistics Branch of the Network Facilities and Services Division.
TREASURERS REPORT: Bob Wigand reports that tax-deductible contributions were received from the following members: Bob and Lucille Bourdeau, Bill Bryant, Benita Cooper, Dave Douds, Mort Foxe, Dave Fromme, Bob Halli, Glenn Harris, Tom Keating, George Keller, Mike Logan, Paul Marcotte, and Don Righter.
RECENT RETIREES: Peter M. Baltzell, Donald J. Cavalieri, Valerie A. Fleming, David R. Jones, Delma J. Moore, Richard M. Schonbachler, Robert F. Silverberg, and Mary J. Troup. Due to an oversight, we did not recognize Stephen E. Simonds when he retired last fall. Thanks, Steve, for bringing the error to our attention.
FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – IT HAPPENED IN MAY: A Titan III-C rocket launched the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) 6 or F on May 30, 1974. Among its many experiments, it was the worlds first educational satellite (transmitting educational programs to many regions around the world) and the worlds first Direct Broadcast Satellite. ATS-6 was decommissioned in July of 1979.
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 youd 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 May luncheon, send an e-mail to Strat Laios (stratlaios@verizon.net) and ask him to reserve a copy for you.
SUPPORT GRAA: For members living in MD, DC, VA, and WV who are thinking of purchasing Verizon cable TV, Internet, or telephone services, place your order by calling 1-888-695-5299 and giving them GRAA Code 13142. When you do, and depending on the type of service(s) ordered, Verizon will donate up to $65.00 to GRAA. If your friends or family members have decided to order from Verizon, pass this information on to them.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.