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

NOVEMBER 2004                          http://graa.gsfc.nasa.gov                      20th Year of Publication

IMPORTANT DATES:
Nov 4                     If you act quickly you can still enjoy the GRAA and Orbital Club Dinner Theatre at the Bea and Barney Recreation                                Center. The entertainment is a musical entitled City of Angels. Tickets are $27.00 for everything (dinner, beverages, tax,                                tips and show). Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and show at 8:00 p.m. Don't delay another minute in                                making your reservation(s) by calling Alberta Moran at 301-937-7762.
Nov 9                   GRAA regular luncheon at 11:30 a.m. (See NOTE below). Reservations are required, so please call 301-937-7762 in advance.                               Come early and spend a few moments checking out the Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show in the Building 8 Auditorium                               starting at 10:00 a.m.
Dec 9                    Shopping, theatre (Christmas show at the American Music Theatre) and dinner. Bus to Lancaster, PA, with shopping at                               Rockvale (over 150 discount stores). All taxes and tips are included at the low cost of $80 per person. Please call                               301-937-7762 for reservations.
Dec 14                 As is customary, there is no GRAA Regular Luncheon due to the many holiday-related activities scheduled throughout                              December. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
Jan 11                  GRAA Regular Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. This event will include the Echo Project Reunion. The Echo Project was launched 40                              years ago last January. Plan to attend, visit with old friends, and remember this very visible satellite. Vintage video taken                              from the launch vehicle will be shown. Ron Muller and John Thole are orchestrating this special reunion activity.                              Reservations are required, so please call 301-937-7762 in advance.
Apr 21, 2005      Eastern Caribbean 10-day cruise on Holland America from Norfolk, VA, to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands,                             Antigua, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico. Cruise fares vary from $1,275 inside up to $1,750 outside with veranda. The fares                             include fixed fees of $238 covering port taxes and other miscellaneous charges. This same cruise is available on February                             17, 2005 by joining a group from Ocean City. For reservations and/or additional information, please call GRAA Travel at                             301-937-7762. 

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Owen Kelley, a hurricane expert from the Global Change Data Center (Code 902), presented an interesting, informative and most timely briefing at the October luncheon about how hurricanes gain strength and are influenced by forces with which they come in contact. Much of Mr. Kelley's came from satellites nad instruments developed or managed from Goddard, such as GOES, EOS (Terra and Aqua), and especially TRMM. He demonstrated the breadth of several hurricanes from GOES, TRMM and MODIS images, and utilized colored images to illustrate forces at work. One fascinating series showed the cross section of a hurricane over time, with heat building from warm ocean water illustrating "hot towers" inspired by Goddard's Dr. Joanne Simpson, former Project Scientist for TRMM. About 50 years ago, Dr. Simpson postulated that convective air currents feed heat to a storm system, resulting in an atmospheric (cloud) formation she referred to as a "hot tower."

Mr. Kelley's presentation  was excellent, and he appreciated the frequent and energetic participation of luncheon attendees. He is currently working on a paper on the same topic, the preliminary title of which is entitled "The Surprising Strength of Hurricanes." If you missed Mr. Kelley's presentation or are interested in obtaining further information, Dick Baker plans to determine when and where the paper will be published. Simply send Dick an e-mail (richard.baker@juno.com) with your e-mail address and he will be pleased to provide the information when it becomes available.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER:
November 27, 1963: Thor-Delta launched Explorer 18/IMP, the first in the IMP series.
November 18, 1964: Scout launched Explorer 24/25, the first dual payload, for upper atmosphere research.
November 24, 1989: Delta 2 launched COBE, the Cosmic Background Explorer.

ENVELOPE STUFFERS FOR OCTOBER:
Marge Gustafson, Rose McChesney, Elaine Montgomery, Dave Moulton, Eloise Tarter, Bob Wigand and Frank Wrigley.

ROAD CLEANUP:
Weather permitting, GRAA volunteers will clean up the part of Good Luck Road bordering the Center following the November meeting.

TREASURER'S REPORT:
Bob Wigand reports that donations were received from Dick Baker, Bill Fortney, Paul Karpiscak and Pat Unger (for John Unger).

LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS!!! (AND WE WOULDN'T MIND RECEIVING MORE):
Pat Dunn wrote, "I really enjoy reading the newsletter. I have relocated to Florida and just love it. I have the best of both worlds, however, because I am supporting the NOAA-N launch scheduled for February next year. Then I guess I will really retire.
Bob Huddleston wrote: "We recentlycompleted the story of Pepita's (Bob's wife) grandmother's and mother's trip around the world that began from their home in Colorado in December 1929. Based on a log kept by her grandmother and expanded to describe the many exotic places visited, Around the World 1929-1930: The Remarkable Journey of Pearl and Emilie Sansten has been published for members of the family and friends. It will serve not only as a memorial to two wonderful ladies, but has been a labor of love for two retirees."
Bill Fortney wrote: "I have moved from the mountains of Pennsylvania to the seashore of Maryland, but I don't want to miss the news from GSFC.Keeping up with all the terrific work done at NASA and the informatio on some of my old working buddies has me looking forward to receiving the GRAA newsletter."
Bill Miller wrote: "Thank you for a job well done! We moved from Glen Burnie, Maryland, to Melbourne, Florida, just in time for four hurricanes! What else is new! Special regards to David Fromme and Bob Morrissey!"
Pat Unger, John's wife wrote: "John has advancing Parkinson's and glaucoma, but is keeping busy in the assisted living wing of the Charlotte Hall Veterans' Home in Charlotte Hall, MD. He is involved with numerous activities (e.g., editing the inhouse newsletter, serv9ing on the by-laws committee for the residents' council) and serves as the resident space science guru, keeping his friends up-to-date on NASA successes - whether they want to hear about them or not!"

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:
John E.Ainsworth of Silver Spring, MD passed away on September 30th following complications from a stroke. John was an atmospheric physicist and primary designer of the Pioneer Venus probe. In addition to his career accomplishments, he also played a major role in creation of the Bowie Ice Arena.
Charles E.Campbell passed away on October 1st from pneumonia in Silver Spring, MD. Charles helped design the Argo D-8 sounding rocket, and he was the instrument manager for the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope on the Compton Great Observatory.
John J.Catena, Jr. of the GOES Program Office collapsed and passed away on October 6th while walking to his office in Building 6. John coordinated with NOAA on satellite operations and participated in several MAD productions.
Frank T.Martin of Silver Spring, MD passed away on October 5th. Frank was noted for his many years of devotion and dedication to the John Lamb Foundation's annual Appalachian Drive.
James Burton of Fredericksburg, VA recently passed away.
Joshua M. Thompson of Pocomoke City, MD recently passed away.
Charles W. Kouns of Alexandria, VA passed away in March.

CHANGES TO E-MAIL ADDRESSES:
Ed Danko's new address is Ed_JeanneDanko@msn.com (Ed please excuse the error in last month's edition).
James Pritchard's new address is jpritchd@computr.org.
Bob Huddleston's new address is rhuddleston1@nc.rr.com.

RECENT RETIREES: Roberta Anderson, Maureen Barber, Hanan Barrett, Richard Batchelder, John Bogert, Elihu Boldt,
Wayne Boswell, Frederick Bradley, alfred Chang, Vitaly Danchenko, John Daniels, Glenna David, Ronald Follas, Thomas Fountain, Suzanne Galllagher, Raul Garza-Robles, Joseph Gauvreau, Janette Gervin, Connie Gross, George Hayne, Stanley Iarosis, Meridel Jellifer, Michael Johnson, Bradley Kline, Donald Mason, James MItchell, Ronald Moxley, Robert Murphy, Nelson Rubin, John Ohman, Janet Ormes, Sandra Savage, Joanne Simpson, Richard Stothers, David Suiter, John Thomas, Virginia Thompson, William Townsend, Robert Wessells, Douglas Young.

GEWA EXCHANGE STORE: Santa Claus is looking for some part-time elves on December 9 (or possibly December 10) to help wrap gifts and on December 11 to help with the annual Christmas Children's Party.If interested in volunteering, please contact Alberta Moran at301-937-7762. If you want to sponsor your progeny (i.e., children or grandchildren) at the Children's Christmas Party, please register at the GEWA Store (301-286-8498) or contact Kenneth Dearth at 301-286-3003.

Remember, you can brighten your Mondays by shopping at the GEWA Store between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m. You will be treated to a 10% discount on all items purchased (including items previously reduced).

Do you need an extra pair of "Leggs"? The GEWA Store is closing out all of its stock of Leggs pantyhose, giving you a 35% discount instead of the usual 10% discount.

Among new products at the GEWA Store are: No No Flatbreads (Cinnamon Sugar or Italian Herb); Terre Frites (Belgian-style potato snacks that look like French Fries (Americaine or Seasoned Salt)); La Nouba Fruit Spreads (an alternative to jam); and from Jeppi they have Dulce De Leche (hard candies with caramel filling); Koala Bear Mix, and Sesame Peanuts.

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NOTE: After the Newsletter went to press Dick Baker advised that Jim Watzin of the Flight Planning and Projects Directorate, will speak at the Tuesday, November 9th meeting.