Ronald A. Parise
Encyclopedia
Ronald Anthony Parise, Ph.D.
(May 24, 1951 – May 9, 2008) was an Italian American
scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle
missions as a payload specialist
.
Parise was born in Warren, Ohio
to Henry and Catherine Parise. By age 11, he became a licensed amateur radio
operator. In his teens, he developed an interest in astronomy and aviation and became a pilot. He attended Western Reserve High School
, graduating in 1969 before attending Youngstown State University
. In 1973, he obtained a bachelor of science degree in physics
, with minors in mathematics
, astronomy
, and geology
. He went on to receive a master's degree in 1977 and a doctorate in 1979 from the University of Florida
, both in astronomy. He and his wife Cecelia Sokol Parise had two children.
Parise died from a brain tumor
on Friday, May 9, 2008 at the age of 56.
requirements definitions and performing failure mode analyses for several NASA missions. In 1980 he began work at Computer Sciences Corp. in the International Ultraviolet Explorer
(IUE) operations center as a data management scientist and in 1981 became the section manager of the IUE hardcopy facility.
In 1981 he began work on the development of a new Spacelab
experiment called the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT). His responsibilities involved flight hardware and software development, electronic system design, and mission planning activities for the UIT project. In 1984 he was selected by NASA as a payload specialist in support of the newly formed Astro
mission series. During his twelve years as a payload specialist he was involved in mission planning, simulator development, integration and test activities, flight procedure development, and scientific data analysis, in addition to his flight crew responsibilities for the Astro program. At the completion of the Astro program, Parise assumed an advanced planning and communications engineering support role for a variety of human space flight projects including Mir
, International Space Station
(ISS), and the X-38.
Parise engaged in a number of astronomical research projects utilizing data from ground-based observatories, the Copernicus satellite (OAO-3), IUE, and the Astro observatory. His research topics, including circumstellar matter in binary star
systems and the evolutionary status of stars in globular clusters, resulted in several professional publications. A veteran of two space flights, Parise logged more than 614 hours and 10.6 million miles in space. He served as a payload specialist aboard STS-35 in 1990 and STS-67 in 1995. At the end of his career, Parise supported the Goddard Space Flight Center
, Networks and Mission Services Project, in the area of advanced communications planning for human spaceflight missions. He was also involved with projects in the Advanced Architectures and Automation Branch that are developing the use of standard Internet Protocols (IP) in space data transmission applications.
/Astro-1 Columbia
(December 2–December 10, 1990). The Astro observatory is a unique complement of three telescopes designed to simultaneously record spectral
data, polarimetric data and imagery of faint astronomical objects in the far ultraviolet
. The mission duration was 215 hours and 5 minutes. The shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base
in California
.
STS-67
/Astro-2 Endeavour
(March 2–18, 1995). This was the second flight of the Astro observatory. During this record-setting 16-day mission, the crew conducted observations around the clock to study the far ultraviolet spectra of faint astronomical objects and the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and distant galaxies
. The mission duration was 399 hours and 9 minutes. The landing was at Edwards Air Force Base
in California
.
Ron was instrumental in bringing amateur radio equipment to the shuttle and operated on the air during his own missions. His amateur radio call sign was WA4SIR.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(May 24, 1951 – May 9, 2008) was an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
missions as a payload specialist
Payload Specialist
A Payload Specialist ' was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a NASA Space Shuttle mission...
.
Parise was born in Warren, Ohio
Warren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
to Henry and Catherine Parise. By age 11, he became a licensed amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
operator. In his teens, he developed an interest in astronomy and aviation and became a pilot. He attended Western Reserve High School
Western Reserve High School (Berlin Center, Ohio)
Western Reserve High School is located on U.S. Route 224 in Berlin Center, Ohio, located in Mahoning County. It has an enrollment of approximately 300 students.-School Background:...
, graduating in 1969 before attending Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
. In 1973, he obtained a bachelor of science degree in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, with minors in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. He went on to receive a master's degree in 1977 and a doctorate in 1979 from the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, both in astronomy. He and his wife Cecelia Sokol Parise had two children.
Parise died from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
on Friday, May 9, 2008 at the age of 56.
Career
Upon graduation in 1979, Parise accepted a position at Operations Research Inc. (ORI) where he was involved in developing avionicsAvionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
requirements definitions and performing failure mode analyses for several NASA missions. In 1980 he began work at Computer Sciences Corp. in the International Ultraviolet Explorer
International Ultraviolet Explorer
The International Ultraviolet Explorer was an astronomical observatory satellite primarily designed to take ultraviolet spectra. The satellite was a collaborative project between NASA, the UK Science Research Council and the European Space Agency...
(IUE) operations center as a data management scientist and in 1981 became the section manager of the IUE hardcopy facility.
In 1981 he began work on the development of a new Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
experiment called the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT). His responsibilities involved flight hardware and software development, electronic system design, and mission planning activities for the UIT project. In 1984 he was selected by NASA as a payload specialist in support of the newly formed Astro
ASTRO
Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations , is an American technology demonstration satellite which was operated as part of the Orbital Express programme. It was used to demonstrate autonomous servicing and refuelling operations in orbit, performing tests on the NEXTSat satellite which was...
mission series. During his twelve years as a payload specialist he was involved in mission planning, simulator development, integration and test activities, flight procedure development, and scientific data analysis, in addition to his flight crew responsibilities for the Astro program. At the completion of the Astro program, Parise assumed an advanced planning and communications engineering support role for a variety of human space flight projects including Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
, International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(ISS), and the X-38.
Parise engaged in a number of astronomical research projects utilizing data from ground-based observatories, the Copernicus satellite (OAO-3), IUE, and the Astro observatory. His research topics, including circumstellar matter in binary star
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
systems and the evolutionary status of stars in globular clusters, resulted in several professional publications. A veteran of two space flights, Parise logged more than 614 hours and 10.6 million miles in space. He served as a payload specialist aboard STS-35 in 1990 and STS-67 in 1995. At the end of his career, Parise supported the Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
, Networks and Mission Services Project, in the area of advanced communications planning for human spaceflight missions. He was also involved with projects in the Advanced Architectures and Automation Branch that are developing the use of standard Internet Protocols (IP) in space data transmission applications.
Spaceflight experience
STS-35STS-35
-Crew notes:Prior to the Challenger disaster, this mission was slated to launch in March 1986 as STS-61-E. Jon McBride was originally assigned to command this mission, which would have been his second spaceflight. He chose to retire from NASA in May 1989 and was replaced as mission commander by...
/Astro-1 Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
(December 2–December 10, 1990). The Astro observatory is a unique complement of three telescopes designed to simultaneously record spectral
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
data, polarimetric data and imagery of faint astronomical objects in the far ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
. The mission duration was 215 hours and 5 minutes. The shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
STS-67
STS-67
STS-67 was a human spaceflight mission using that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 2 March 1995.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: payload*Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 91.5 min...
/Astro-2 Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
(March 2–18, 1995). This was the second flight of the Astro observatory. During this record-setting 16-day mission, the crew conducted observations around the clock to study the far ultraviolet spectra of faint astronomical objects and the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and distant galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
. The mission duration was 399 hours and 9 minutes. The landing was at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Ron was instrumental in bringing amateur radio equipment to the shuttle and operated on the air during his own missions. His amateur radio call sign was WA4SIR.
Organizations
- American Astronomical Society
- Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Association of Space Explorers
- International Astronomical Union
- Sigma XiSigma XiSigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
- Phi Kappa PhiPhi Kappa PhiThe Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
- Warren Amateur Radio Association, Inc.
- AMSATAMSATAMSAT is a name for amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide, but in particular the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation with headquarters at Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington DC. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, and then operate satellites carrying amateur...
- ARISS
- Space Hams International
- Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society of Washington D.C.
Awards and honors
- NASA Space Flight MedalNASA Space Flight MedalThe NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronaut, pilot, mission specialist, payload specialist, or...
(1991, 1995) - Distinguished member of Phi Kappa Phi (1996)
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Youngstown State University (1996)
- NASA/GSFC Special Act Award (1995)
- Computer Sciences Corp., Space and Earth Technology Systems, Award for Technical Innovation (1999)
- NASA Group Achievement Award (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000)
- NASA/GSFC Community Service Award (1990)
- Allied Signal, Quest for Excellence Award (1997)