[SMCARA] Ron Parise, WA4SIR SK

[Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS]

Ron was often seen at local hamfests, checking out the stuff.
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Gone West: Former Astronaut Dr. Ronald Parise Two-Time Shuttle Payload
Specialist Was 56 

An astronomer and computer specialist who went on to fly on two space
shuttle missions has lost a three-year battle with brain cancer. Former
shuttle payload specialist Dr. Ronald A. Parise, PhD, died at his home
in Silver Springs, MD on Friday. He was 56. 

Parise was one of the developers of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope,
and used the device to study stars and other celestial objects during
shuttle missions in 1990 and 1995. 

Born in 1951 in Warren, OH, Parise earned his amateur radio license at
age 11 and remained active in ham radio using the call sign WA4SIR. 

The Houston Chronicle reports as a teenager, he became active in the
Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society and built two telescopes. 
He also learned to fly small aircraft, which his wife told the paper
became a life-long joy until his disease became advanced. 
Parise also earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Youngstown State
University, and master's and doctorate degrees in astronomy from the
University of Florida. 

In 1984, he became a NASA payload specialist, working on several
technical projects in addition to spending 614 hours in orbit 

and traveling 10.6 million miles in space. Parise refined and packaged a
small ham radio station which could be used from the shuttles, bringing
the thrill of direct voice contact with an orbiting astronaut to
thousand of schoolchildren through SAREX, the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment. The program has been a public relations bonanza for NASA. 

After 12 years with NASA, Parise held several other space, astronomy and
computer-related jobs. He's survived by his wife, the former Cecelia
Sokol, whom he met at Youngstown State; a son, Nicholas, who's in the
Air Force; and a daughter, Katherine, who lives in Silver Springs. 

Services will be held at 10 am Friday at Resurrection Catholic Church in
Burtonsville, MD. The family requests that donations in lieu of flowers
be sent to Youngstown State University Foundation's Dr. Ronald A. Parise
Scholarship fund. 
FMI: www.nasa.gov 


73 de Tom/W4OKW