my dad is an uber space nerd
before the internet, i had no idea what my dad did. well, that, and i was a kid and just figured my dad had a job that he did somewhere. and what he’s done over the years has always been so complicated, and his titles so long, that i can never remember them for longer than two minutes. the only time it was easy to articulate was when we lived in florida and he launched rockets from cape canaveral. almost anyone living there knew what a titan rocket was, and so i’d say, “y’know the titan rockets? he launches those.” simple enough.
so back to the internet. most of what my dad does - well, the stuff he can talk about - is a). over my head, b). pretty heady and high level and c). not super interesting to me. aside from knowing that he helped built -Â and now monitor/run - GPS, i know that he flies around a lot to all kinds of bases, government officials, meetings, seminars, blah…blah…blah.
but when i heard he’d be testifying on space debris before the science and technology committee of the house, i was googling away. the info is on the committee’s site, and i found his nine-page presentation that he gave (but no, i didn’t read it), plus a press release on the subject:
From a national defense perspective, USAF Lt. Gen. Larry James, said, “We need to be able to discriminate between natural and man-made threats. We need to understand the location, status and purpose of these objects, their capabilities, and their owners’ intent. This comprehensive knowledge enables decision-makers to rapidly and effectively select courses of action to ensure our sustained freedom of action and safety in what is clearly a contested environment.”
James continued, “To get there we require more automated, net-centric capabilities to command and control space forces, and networked sensors and information systems that seamlessly share information to more effectively use our current resources.”
yes, yes, very important no doubt. but the story that really takes the cake is my dad said after he was leaving the hearing, someone in a cab drove by, had the driver stop, back up, he rolled down his window and went, YAAAAY air force! and then my dad’s escort asked him what it felt like to be a rock star.
you may not THINK a degree from the air froce academy in astronautical engineering (yes, a literal rocket scientist), a subsequent masters from MIT, and a career immersed in all things space would elevate you to a fans-screaming-out-of-car-windows status. but you’d (apparently) be wrong.
April 29 2009 06:07 am | family and military and parents