G.R.A.A.

                           Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association

                           P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD  20703-0163

 

October 2009                                            http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov                                25th Year of Publication

 

IMPORTANT DATES: 

October 13         November 10 December 11 (Friday)

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, October 9th.                  Sgt. Lisa Muhammad, Citizens Services Manager for District II of the Prince George’s County Police Department, will provide advice for remaining safe in your home and neighborhood and reporting crimes or abnormal/suspicious activity to local authorities.    Mark your calendar for the GRAA Luncheon at 11:30 a.m.   Sign up for the annual “Magic of a Musical Christmas” trip to Lancaster, PA.  This year’s excursion is only $99, payable at the time of reservation.  Starting at 9:00 a.m. from the Visitor Center, included will be opportunities for holiday shopping at the Rockvale Square outlet stores; the 2009 Holiday Jubilee show (first/second row seating) at the American Music Theater; a delicious Prime Rib Buffet at Arthur’s Restaurant; and arrival back at the Rec Center about 9:30 p.m.  There will be refreshments on the bus, including Barney’s famous Bloody Marys.  For additional information or to make reservations, call Alberta Moran soon at her number above.  No refunds will be available unless reserved tickets can be resold.

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT:  At our September luncheon, George Morrow, Goddard’s Director of Flight Projects, substituted for Center Director Rob Strain, who was called to NASA Headquarters.  He briefed attendees on Goddard’s many mission operations in 2009, current projects, the overall state of the Center, and future planned missions. 

 

The Lunar Reconnaissance Observatory, the last Hubble Servicing Mission (SM-4), and the last Goddard-managed NOAA polar weather satellite are the three major successes this year.

 

Ongoing projects include:  1)  the James Webb Space Telescope is taking over the clean room formerly used for Hubble Space Telescope work for integration and testing; the Landsat Data Continuity mission; TDRS K & L development; the Solar Dynamic Observatory, which has been delayed a year awaiting a launch vehicle; and multiple Explorer spacecraft.  Some of the new missions under study at Goddard are the Global Precipitation Mission, a follow-on to TRMM; Goddard’s first Mars mission (MAVEN); GEM; the next SMEX; and the Magnetosphere Multiscale (MMS), a four-satellite in-house project.  Large pallets, only two of which fit into a Shuttle bay, are being built for use by external science payloads at the International Space Station.

 

Other recent happenings at Goddard include the opening of the new science building on the East Campus and the new perimeter road that connects it to the overall campus.  Building 2 is planned for demolition and Building 21 is scheduled to be refurbished.  Wallops Flight Facility is now an operational satellite launch facility and the only NASA-managed launch site.  Orbital Sciences Corporation will be launching their new Taurus II from Wallops.  Goddard is hiring again, both fresh outs and experienced personnel, and currently has some 3,250 civil servants.

 

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – IT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER:  On October 30, 1979, a Scout II rocket launched the Magnetic Field Satellite (Magsat), aka:  Applications Explorer Mission-3 and AEM-3), which was the first satellite designed specifically to investigate the near-Earth magnetic field.  The orbit allowed the satellite to map, except for the geographic poles, a majority of the Earth’s surface.  Due to the close proximity of the orbit to the Earth, the spacecraft was unstable and the orbit decayed on June 11, 1980.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:  Always keep your words soft and sweet just in case you have to eat them.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:  Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.

 

 

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

§         Curtis L. Evans, Jr., of Laurel, MD, passed away on September 5^th.  Early in his career at Goddard he worked in the Building Maintenance Branch of the Plant Operations and Maintenance Division and in later years in the Facilities Maintenance Division.

§         Reginald T. Ford, of Bowie, MD, passed away on September 6^th.  He was a Stationary Engineer (Boiler Operator) at Goddard.

§         William J. Logan, Sr., of Haymarket, VA, passed away from prostate cancer on July 26^th.  He served on the USS Intrepid in WWII, spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and was an Hydraulic Technician at Goddard.

§         James M. Scott, of The Villages, FL, passed away on August 20^th.  He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT:  Bob Wigand reports tax-deductible contributions were received from the following members:  Gus Alicea, Hope Dickson, Bill Elsen, Dario Galoppo, Mike Lauriente, Bill Mack, and Lib Rogers.

 

GRAA MEMBER RECALLS GODDARD’S EARLY DAYS:  GRAA member Jaylee Mead will reminisce about the “Early Days at Goddard” during her presentation at the Scientific Colloquium on October 16^th.  This event is part of the continuing celebration of Goddard’s 50^th Anniversary, so please consider attending in support of your fellow retiree.  Jaylee’s presentation will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Building 3 Auditorium.  Simply sign in at the Main Gate and tell the security receptionist you are there to attend the Scientific Colloquium.

 

RECENT RETIREES:  Deborah A. Dratter, Jay R. Herman, Antony A. Liu, William C. Maguire, Dillard Menchan, David H. Rind, and Mary Ellen Shoe.

 

GODDARD FLASHBACK TO 1976:  During Goddard’s 50^th Anniversary year, take a step back a few years and watch an historic video from 1976!  The film commemorates 50 years from the first successful liquid fuel rocket flight.  Watch it today by clicking on:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czJgpDcuKT0 (Note:  that’s a zero at the end) or go to http://www.youtube.com and search on Goddard Space Flight Center (1976).

 

MEMORIES FROM YESTERYEAR:  It is most fitting during Goddard’s 50^th Anniversary to recall a quote from  Dr. Robert H. Goddard.  He said, “Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace.”  Consider the untold number of space-related accomplishments for which Dr. Goddard provided inspiration.  

 

“ANNIE” TICKETS NOW ON SALE:  Goddard’s Music and Drama (MAD) 2009 Fall Show, the Tony-award winning play from Broadway, will be presented for 5 weekends (October 23 – November 21), with performances on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday Matinees.  This year MAD will have a special matinee (instead of evening) performance on Halloween, Saturday, October 31^st.  For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit the MAD web site at http://www.madtheater.org.