i remember going to stay with uncle skip during the mid 80s as a teen, and despite being too cool for most anything, i was REALLY impressed when he took me around the base up northern california, though i've forgotten much of it. what i remember was all the cool NASA souvenirs we had, including one of few replicas of the plaque put on side of satellite to represent our planet and inhabitants. he was such a wonderful and fun man, exactly who you'd think would head nasa in an action flick in which he'd save the world. but one thing i always found fascinating was that when asked about alien life, he'd give this look like you just asked him if water was wet....
that's uncle skip in all black on the left
Can you help explain what you mean by "Director of Space"? And where did he work?
Director of Space is the next step after Wizard of Light bulbs.
https://www.dailypress.com/1989/05/04/ex-nasa-director-dies-of-heart-attack/
Sure! I mean head of NASA until he retired. Pioneer was one of his babies... https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19890023225
He was a center director, not head of NASA. That’s the Adminstrator.
Actually, I had title off! He wasn't an administrator, because apparently that IS title of guy heading NASA. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=YTC19890517.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------
You’re right. He does look like the guy who would be lecturing the President on how to treat the aliens. Also like a young Carl Sagan.
He looks so much younger than all the other guys in that picture. I wonder what was happening at that meeting.
He wA no doubt saying something intelligent about his baby, pioneer. Or writing obnoxious papers about automation for space station!
Or hating on burt Reynolds because his second wife had crush on him!
Awesome, thank you for sharing
My dad was high up at Ames around that time - last name of your uncle? Started at JPL myself not long after that.
Robert nunamaker, I knew him as Uncle skip as my mom's brother.
I got to visit him once, it was very impressive, even to a tween!
I just looked him up. It seems he went by his middle name Skip. Nice story btw
Thanks, to my shame skip is actually a nickname from childhood, and I'm now realizing I never asked my mom where it came from!
The name is familiar, although not in my dad's regular circle of colleagues (he retired 1984).
I worked for him! I retired after 42 years in 2005.
Really? How neat! I bet he was cool to work for, he had my weird sense of humor!