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I thoroughly enjoyed the SERVO Magazine article, “Dr. Earnst Stuhlinger: Rocket Pioneer and Space Visionary” by Annie Laura Smith.

It’s good to review our past heroes of the US Space Program so we can see how far we’ve progressed from the the late 1920s with Dr. Robert Goddard’s first rockets and the 1940s efforts during World War II, to the present day manned and unmanned space flights.

Ms. Smith’s article was a very informative, concise review of Dr. Stuhlinger who was one of the founders of our present exploration of outer space and his efforts to make the US a leader in space technology. The SERVO side of space travel has been the autonomous rovers that we have sent to the moon and Mars, which have greatly advanced the fields of robotics and astronomy. I’ve been interested in astronomy and space travel since my first grade days in 1957, and have studied the physics side of astronomy and the engineering side of space travel.

I even have books printed from back in the early ‘60s which talk about ion rocket motors, in addition to a vast array of college and graduate level books on astronomy, physics, and spacecraft/space travel. I taught automation and robotics plus electronics and mechanical systems for 20 years at a local community college, so space exploration peaks my interests in both space and robotics.

Joseph T. Brown PhD EE, P.E.

Thanks so much for your feedback on Laura’s article. I think that many readers share your interest in astronomy and space, given the physics and engineering involved. And I’m right there with you.

In fact, I’ll be introducing a series on astronomy in SERVO, including small footprint radio astronomy. I was on the waiting list for mission specialist for the shuttle until the Sally Ride event.

No more civilians after that. I taught computers and robotics at MIT and medicine at Harvard Medical School for 35 years and spend a lot of my “free” time and money on astronomy gear.

Bryan Bergeron