G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD 20703-0163

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Our speaker for the October luncheon was Dr. Steven Curtis, Senior Scientist for Robotic and Exploration Technology, who gave us a peek at what the forecast might be for future space exploration. Imagine a rover on the Moon or Mars that does not have wheels. Instead, it crawls on a combination of telescoping tubes, joints, links, nodes and internal motors that, depending upon conditions and obstacles, can change its shape of motion using on-board intelligence. He showed a movie of a multi-node lab model currently being tested at Goddard. He is working with nanotechnology to develop swarms of small satellites to survey and investigate asteroids and planets. These Autonomous Nanotechnology Swarms (ANTS) are clusters of multi-purpose satellites which would communicate with each other and perform multiple and interchangeable on-orbit functions, such as sensors, transmitters or controls without ground intervention. Advances in electronics, materials and software have enabled the development of such nano devices.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER: Delta rockets launched the Improved TIROS Operational System (ITOS-F or NOAA-3) satellite on November 6, 1973, and the ITOS-G or NOAA-4 satellite on November 15, 1974. The objective of both missions was to provide visible and infrared images of cloud cover, snow and ice, and the sea surface, as well as to collect information on vertical temperature and moisture atmospheric profiles. The satellites remained operational until deactivated by NOAA on August 21, 1976, and November 18, 1978, respectively. ITOS-F/NOAA-3 marked the beginning of the use of the NOAA designator for flights.

INTERNATIONAL SUN-EARTH EXPLORER-3/INTERNATIONAL COMETARY EXPLORER (ISEE-3/ICE) CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY OF ENCOUNTER WITH COMET: NASA and the Newseum celebrated the 25^th Anniversary of the first comet encounter with a spacecraft, ISEE-3/ICE, at the Newseum on September 10^th . Comets, building blocks of the outer solar system, were described in detail from their ice and dust centers to their iron tails. GRAA member Dr. Robert Farquhar provided a vivid description of the ISEE-3/ICE mission from his concept of first use of a libration point halo orbit for the ISEE mission to a successful encounter with Comet Giacobini-Zinner and his goal of a second swing-by encounter with a comet in 2018. Dr. Michael A’Hearn showed diagrams and images from the Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel-1 on July 4, 2005. Most of the comet is low density or empty space. He is preparing to use the mother spacecraft from Deep Impact for another mission called EPOXI for an encounter with Comet Hartley-2 on November 4, 2010. Dr. Joseph Ververka is planning a mission, Stardust NExT, to pass within 200 km of Tempel-1 on February 14, 2011, in an effort to learn more about the impact crater and surface features. Another mission is also planned to collect and return dust from Comet Wild02. Dr. James Green, NASA Director of Planetary Programs, closed the symposium by showing recent observations indicating water, sub-surface ice or liquid methane on multiple planets and moons in the solar system. He provided a listing of planetary missions NASA will be launching in the next two years to study some of these phenomena.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH : There are two excellent theories for arguing with women. Neither one works.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

•  Arnold P. Cephas, of Fort Washington, MD, passed away on October 16^th following a brief illness. For most of his career at Goddard, he served as a Software Systems Engineer in the Information Processing Division.

•  Francis M. Collins, Jr., of Cheverly, MD, passed away on October 17^th . He was an Aeronautical Engineer at Goddard.

•  Donald J. Leonard, of Chincoteague, VA, passed away on September 24^th . He was a Firefighter for the Navy and then NASA at the Wallops Flight Facility. He was a businessman as well, with ventures including the Island Marina, Island Cruises, and the Refuge Motor Inn.

•  William S. Logan, Jr, of Silver Spring, MD, passed away on September 19^th . He was a Mechanical Engineer who worked on many of the Explorer spacecraft missions

•  David A. Nace, of Kalamazoo, MI, passed away on October 9^th following a short, aggressive bout with abdominal cancer. He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard and traveled the globe working as a pioneer with communication satellites. For example, he installed radio gear on Jacques Cousteau’s marine research ship, the Calypso.

•  Benjamin Norcia, of Clinton, MD, passed away on October 2^nd , his 97th birthday. After retiring from the Air Force, he was a Logistician at Goddard during the Apollo and Skylab missions.

•  William F. Parks, Jr., of Exmore, VA, passed away of October 2nd. He was an Electrical Supervisor at the Wallops Flight Facility.

GRAA MEMBER SEEKING COMMENTS/FEEDBACK ON NEW CHILDREN'S MATH AND SCIENCE WEB SITE : GRAA member Tom Karras worked on a summer project with his family (son, daughter, and two granddaughters) and produced the Math-Science Digital Book. Tom is asking GRAA members to read through the draft on-line “book” and provide comments/feedback to help edit/refine the final version. Ye Ed thinks this is a very worthwhile project, so please check the “book” out at http://www.KidsMathScienceDigitalBook.com/read.pdf and send your comments/feedback to Tom. He can be contacted via e-mail at senecare@aol.com, telephone at 301-353-9507, or snail mail at PO Box 1205, Germantown, MD 20875-1205.

IEEE PRESENTS MILESTONE AWARD TO SARNOFF INC. FOR TIROS 1: As follow-up to the 50^th Anniversary celebration of TIROS 1 last April, IEEE presented a Milestone Award (bronze plaque) to Sarnoff Inc. on September 27^th . Although several GRAA members were invited to attend, John Davis was the only member able to make the trip. As he reminisced during the ceremony, he wished that other Goddard folks from the TIROS 1 days could be there to enjoy the recognition being bestowed for all the hard work they provided in helping make TIROS 1 a success. For more information about the event, check out http://ubtrue2.net/tiros50thanc/T5AIEEEStatus.htm.

RECENT RETIREES: James A. Jackson, Debra L. Parsons, and Nancy M. Smith.

TREASURER'S REPORT : Bob Wigand reports that tax-deductible contributions were received from Tony Grandi, Dario Galoppo, Bob Groves, Gene Humphrey, Don and Judy Lokerson, Bill Mack, Dave Manges, Marge Townsend, Jack Townsend (in memory of Long-Legged Louie), and Bob Wilson. In addition, a rebate check was received from Verizon on behalf of a member who signed up for its services.