[amsat-bb] reminiscing about a long ago time - WAS:Re: Re: Earthrise - add

[James French]

Since we are reminiscing about where some of our families
were doing at the beginning of the space age, I'll add mine
in.

My grandfather, Paul, W1DLP, told me about working on some of the
equipment for the Gemini program. He even gave me one of his trinkets
from then, a plastic coin bank in the shape of a Gemini capsule that he
had gotten. I have long since lost that trinket...:(

I am wondering how many of us had relatives that did something during
those fun times?

James W8ISS
=====
On Fri, 2008-12-26 at 11:13 -0600, Reicher, James wrote:
> Seeing this link brought tears to my eyes.  
> 
> At the time the tapes were made, I was the tender age of three, but I
> still have a very close connection with those images and with the tapes.
> 
> 
> My grandfather, Walter Lyons, an electrical engineer with RCA, helped
> develop the technology used in taking the images from the Lunar Orbiter
> and Surveyor series and converting them into radio waves and into the
> data found on these tapes.
> 
> Although he never was licensed as an amateur, he was one of my
> inspirations for becoming a ham.  Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years
> before I earned my ticket.
> 
> 73 de W0HV, Jim in Raymore, MO (ex-N8AU)
>  
> Light travels faster than sound...  This is why some people appear
> bright until you hear them speak.
> 
> Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:30:36 -0900
> From: Edward Cole <kl7uw at acsalaska.net>
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Earthrise - add
> To: Joe Fitzgerald <jfitzgerald at alum.wpi.edu>
> Cc: Amsat BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Message-ID: <200812252030.mBPKUbv8086213 at hermes.acsalaska.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> 
> At 04:25 AM 12/25/2008, Joe Fitzgerald wrote:
> >Rocky Jones wrote:
> > > I think that the first black and white photo of Earthrise over 
> > the Moon...was from one of the Lunar Orbiters... I think 5...
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >There was a nice story recently about a recent restoration of that
> photo
> >...http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-111408a.html
> >
> >-Joe KM1P
> >_______________________________________________
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> 
> I am amazed at times how my own past resurfaces.
> 
> One of my duties at Goldstone from 1974-1976 was to manage the tape 
> backup for data received from spacecraft like the Voyagers and 
> Pioneers that flew by Jupiter, Saturn (and the outer planets after my 
> time), and other missions.  It was sort of an unwanted task handed 
> off on me.  But I took it serious and devised a record system to keep 
> track of when they were recorded and so they would be retained for 
> the required time period.  These were backups as the prime data had 
> been transmitted to the mission scientist.  These were held a minimum 
> of 30-days in case of any bad data in the originals.  I started 
> stacking them in an unused office but in time they ended up in the 
> climate-controlled "basement" of the 64m DSS-14 Control 
> Building.  They ended up being kept much longer than 30-days.  I'm 
> guessing these reel tapes were made by the same recorder as mentioned 
> in the article.  Isn't it fantastic that the old Lunar tapes were 
> recoverable!  2009 will be my 30th anniversary of leaving Jet 
> Propulsion Lab to move to Alaska...tempis fugit!
> 
> The, then new, Hydrogen Maser Master Clock was installed in this same 
> room.  It was used for precise timing of VLBI experiments, which 
> previously required calibration by the famous "flying clock" or the 
> x-band Moon Bounce timing system (ask Dick, K6HIJ).  Not only 
> Goldstone, but Madrid, and Canberra stations required to be on the 
> same accurate time (ask Tom Clark about that).
> 
> As the New Year approaches we reflect on the past.  Thanks to those 
> who recently found those articles.
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy New year!
> 73, Ed Cole - KL7UW (& Janet) 
> 
> 
> 
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