Jpl

The decision by NASA to shutter the popular open house at Jet Propulsion Laboratory has many science fans crying into their calculators. But Clark Magnet High School students in Glendale keep pushing on, recently launching a near-space balloon over Angeles National Fores t. Bert Ring imagines this cheering the JPL's downtrodden scientists.  -- Dan Evans, Times Community News  Follow Dan Evans on Twitter: @EditorDanEvans . ...

A hearing is scheduled to be held Sept. 24 for a lawsuit brought by 27 scientists and one engineer from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center against NASA/JPL who object to a new background check requirement, saying it is an invasion of privacy. ?These scientists [and the engineer] work in non-sensitive, unclassified areas,? said attorney Dan Stormer, a partner at Hadsell and Stormer who represents the plaintiffs. A Bush administration directive requires new background checks for all government employees.

W hat do a Dodgers' outfielder and a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist have in common? They both use "perceptual judgment mechanism needed to track a sphere as drag coefficient and Magnus forces induce non-symmetric parabolas" — of course. "That’s geek speak for how a fly ball [travels]," said Don Yeoman, manager of NASA Near Earth Object Office at JPL. Yeoman used the analogy of how a ball player calculates the speed and direction of a fly ball to how scientists determine the velocity and path of asteroids as they hurdle through space.

The judge in the trial of a former Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee who claims he was fired for his belief that God had a hand in shaping the universe will determine what's dogma and what isn't, not a religious expert. David Coppedge, a former systems administration lead on NASA'sCassini mission to Saturn, claims he was unfairly terminated from his JPL job for discussing California's gay marriage ban initiative with colleagues and for giving them DVDs promoting intelligent design - the theory that life and the existence of the universe are best explained as the result of the influence of God or an intelligent agent.

A man who claims he lost his job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory because he voiced support for the theory of intelligent design is seeking $1.36 million in damages and lost wages, according to court papers filed as the case winds down. David Coppedge, a former administrator on the Cassini project to Saturn, is seeking $860,000 for lost wages and $500,000 for emotional distress damages. Attorneys for Coppedge claimed in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this year that his discussions of intelligent design with co-workers led to discipline that improperly curtailed his free speech rights, amounting to religious discrimination.

Lawyers for Jet Propulsion Laboratory challenged former JPL employee David Coppedge on his track record at the NASA-affiliated research facility Tuesday, laying out a history of complaints about his work that had nothing to do with religion or politics. Coppedge is suing JPL for wrongful termination, claiming he was the subject of discrimination because he engaged other coworkers in conversation about California's ban on gay marriages and the theory of intelligent design. The theory holds that an intelligent agent guided the creation and evolution of the universe.

Visitors to Jet Propulsion Laboratory 's Space Flight Operations Facility were given one rule as they filed inside Saturday morning: Say 'wow.' The hub that manages missions and flights is usually closed to the public; but many got a rare, close-up look at the national historic landmark during the NASA center's open house, which will continue again Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “That was fantastic,” said Kathy Ross. “You could see everything that they show on TV and all the stuff they don't.” Ross, from Studio City, was one of an estimated 17,700 visitors to tour JPL. She was on hand with her 8-year-old son, David.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The renovated von Karman Visitor Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was dedicated at a ceremony Friday night, demonstrating's JPL's increased attention to informing the public. The visitor center is toured by nearly 16,000 people every year, including 10,000 children on school field trips. In the past, it was a loose collection of pop-up displays surrounding a 17-foot-tall, life-sized model of the Galileo spacecraft.

Former Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee David Coppedge testified Monday that other employees at the facility displayed political and religious materials in the workplace, even after he was told to stop discussing “intelligent design” or Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage. Coppedge's testimony came in the second week of a trial in his lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully terminated and JPL discriminated against him because he advocated for the theory of intelligent design, which holds that God guided the creation and evolution of the universe.

GLENDALE -- Educators, civic leaders and members of the Glendale business community learned more about the future of space exploration Thursday from an expert on the subject. Edward Stone, director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory addressed about 300 people during the annual Glendale College Foundation Business luncheon. The luncheon was sponsored by Glendale Partners, a business organization that assists the foundation in raising money for new Glendale Community College facilities and programs like the Cimmarusti Science Center.

The decision by NASA to shutter the popular open house at Jet Propulsion Laboratory has many science fans crying into their calculators. But Clark Magnet High School students in Glendale keep pushing on, recently launching a near-space balloon over Angeles National Fores t. Bert Ring imagines this cheering the JPL's downtrodden scientists.  -- Dan Evans, Times Community News  Follow Dan Evans on Twitter: @EditorDanEvans . ...

The car-sized rover Curiosity had a clean landing on Mars five months ago. But planetary missions didn't always run so smoothly at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Mariner 3, a probe sent to do a first-ever flyby in 1964, failed to get to the Red Planet during a stressful time at the space agency. Engineers were under intense pressure to beat Russia in the space race. Another spacecraft launched three weeks later, Mariner 4, eventually made it to Mars. It returned the first grainy close-up images of a foreign terrain.

Frank Leppla, beloved and patient husband of Patti, father of Michael and Joey Lorscheider, grandfather of Sophia, Eddie, Vanessa, and Sean, and great-grandfather of Elijah and Amira, passed away on January 4, 2013, from a rare form of Leukemia. Frank was loved by all and will be missed. Frank was retired from JPL after 43 years as a scientific engineer. A celebration of Frank's life will be held at his home in La Cañada at noon on January 19th. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to your favorite cancer organization.

Going where no man has gone before -- it could be the theme for this year's Montrose Christmas Parade, with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars rover team and original “Star Trek” actor Walter Koenig serving as co-grand marshals. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and other dignitaries and officials will also be taking part in the parade along Honolulu Avenue, which starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The parade starts at Honolulu Avenue at Rosemont Avenue, and then runs east to Verdugo Road.

With the space shuttle Endeavour nearing Los Angeles airspace, a crowd started to amass at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, where there was a sense of mourning among some of the onlookers. "It's kind of sad, actually. It's sort of like a flag ceremony," said Steve Collins of the Curiosity Mars rover team. "It feels like they should be flying in the missing man formation. " Still, he said he was excited to meet up with several other rover team members to watch Endeavour's final flight, even if it is a somber occasion.

Officials have revealed some details of space shuttle Endeavour's aerial tour of California, a final flight that is to include low-level passes over the state Capitol, San Francisco and several Los Angeles landmarks. Riding piggyback on a modified 747 aircraft, the retired shuttle will depart Edwards Air Force Base about 7:15 a.m. Friday and will fly low over Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond and Mojave before heading north to Sacramento, NASA officials said. There, Endeavour will fly over the Capitol and turn to San Francisco, where those hoping to catch a glimpse of the shuttle are advised to watch from one of several Bay Area museums, including the Chabot Space and Science Center, the Exploratorium, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, the Lawrence Hall of Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Floyd Alvin Paul, beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away on August 31, 2012. He was 89 years old. He joins his beloved wife of 60 years, Dorothy, who preceded him in death by three years. Floyd was the third of 4 sons of Burton Wesley and Emma Lovina Boyd Paul, born on March 14, 1923 in Medford, Oregon. He and his brothers, Homer, Gordon and Robert grew up in Glendale where Floyd played the clarinet in the Sheriff's Boys Band and at E. J. Toll Jr. High. His mother, Emma, supported herself and her 4 sons working as a pharmacist.

Calling the work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “important for California,” Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday defended government investment in science, and in projects such as high-speed rail even at a time of deficits and cuts to core services. “If the idea is when you got a problem you don't do anything, then you shut this place down, that's stupid,” he said during his visit to the campus in La Cañada Flintridge. “You've got to do more than one thing. We have to invest as well, as we take care of all these other problems.

Visitors to Jet Propulsion Laboratory 's Space Flight Operations Facility were given one rule as they filed inside Saturday morning: Say 'wow.' The hub that manages missions and flights is usually closed to the public; but many got a rare, close-up look at the national historic landmark during the NASA center's open house, which will continue again Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “That was fantastic,” said Kathy Ross. “You could see everything that they show on TV and all the stuff they don't.” Ross, from Studio City, was one of an estimated 17,700 visitors to tour JPL. She was on hand with her 8-year-old son, David.

A man who claims he lost his job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory because he voiced support for the theory of intelligent design is seeking $1.36 million in damages and lost wages, according to court papers filed as the case winds down. David Coppedge, a former administrator on the Cassini project to Saturn, is seeking $860,000 for lost wages and $500,000 for emotional distress damages. Attorneys for Coppedge claimed in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this year that his discussions of intelligent design with co-workers led to discipline that improperly curtailed his free speech rights, amounting to religious discrimination.