The coolest part of today was meeting Barry, the first-day-on-the job volunteer at the Roseville Utility Exploration Center. Barry saw that we were there to see the Smithsonian Institutions traveling photo exhibit Earth from Space and wanted to let us know that if we had any questions, hed be happy to answer them. Hed worked in the industry of mechanical engineering and space exploration for 54 years. Yes, indeed, I had questions for Barry! I wanted to know everything about his career. His first project was developing prototype GPS for the Navy at Johns Hopkinss Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). He then went on to work on satellite mapping of the geographical variations in the surface of the earth to better improve missile accuracy during the Cold War. Then he worked on several spacecraft, including engineering the sensing instruments of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbitor, which preceded the landing of Mars Rover. MRO told them where Rover might land. One spacecraft he worked on is still on its way to Pluto (New Horizons) and wont get there until next year. Barry was bashful and smart and very engineeish, and said encouraging things to my son, when I prompted Barry with questions about what he studied in school to launch such an impressive career. Barry was inspiring. Possibly, he also is crazy and a liar. But I prefer to think he was the real deal.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 00:57:17 +0000
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