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  Propulsion scientist Yvonne Brill (1924-2013)

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Author Topic:   Propulsion scientist Yvonne Brill (1924-2013)
Robert Pearlman
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posted 03-31-2013 09:04 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The New York Times reports that Yvonne Brill, who developed the industry-standard propulsion system to keep geosynchronous communications satellites in orbit, died Wednesday (March 27, 2013) at 88 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Mrs. Brill — she preferred to be called Mrs., her son said — is believed to have been the only woman in the United States who was actually doing rocket science in the mid-1940s, when she worked on the first designs for an American satellite.

...Mrs. Brill's development of a more efficient rocket thruster to keep orbiting satellites in place allowed satellites to carry less fuel and more equipment and to stay in space longer. The thrusters have the delicate task of maneuvering a weightless satellite that can tip the scales at up to 5,000 pounds on Earth.

Mrs. Brill contributed to the propulsion systems of Tiros, the first weather satellite; Nova, a series of rocket designs that were used in American moon missions; the Atmosphere Explorer, the first upper-atmosphere satellite; and the Mars Observer, which in 1992 almost entered a Mars orbit before losing communication with Earth.

From 1981 to 1983, Mrs. Brill worked for NASA developing the rocket motor for the space shuttle. In a statement after Mrs. Brill's death, Michael Griffin, president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, praised her as "a pioneering spirit" who coupled "a clear vision of what the future of an entire area of systems should be with the ingenuity and genius necessary to make that vision a reality."

SpaceAholic
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posted 03-31-2013 09:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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cspg
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posted 03-31-2013 10:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cspg   Click Here to Email cspg     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's this book, also about rocket scientist Mary Sherman Morgan: Rocket Girl: The Story of America's First Female Rocket Scientist

randy
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posted 03-31-2013 12:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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AlanLawrie
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posted 03-31-2013 12:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for AlanLawrie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In the late 1980s Yvonne was based in London working for Inmarsat. She was my customer for the propulsion systems on the Inmarsat 2 satellites being built by BAe. Always a very knowlegeable person and a fair customer. She was described by Carl Stechman of Marquardt at the time as the World's oldest living female rocket propulsion engineer.

413 is in
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posted 03-31-2013 12:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 413 is in   Click Here to Email 413 is in     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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David Carey
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posted 03-31-2013 02:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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spaceman
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posted 03-31-2013 04:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman   Click Here to Email spaceman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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GACspaceguy
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posted 03-31-2013 07:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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East-Frisian
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AJ
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posted 04-01-2013 07:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for AJ   Click Here to Email AJ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Jeff
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posted 04-01-2013 09:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jeff   Click Here to Email Jeff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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hlbjr
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posted 04-01-2013 09:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hlbjr   Click Here to Email hlbjr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Hart Sastrowardoyo
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posted 04-01-2013 10:21 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Apparently, she was good at making beef stroganoff. SMH.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-01-2013 10:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Although I agree it was inappropriate for the lede and that the writer should have recognized that, it seems to me that the interview with Brill's son set the tone for the obituary.

I would bet that to him her "mean beef stroganoff" and her loyalty to family was much more prevalent in his own mind. I think the writer was reflecting what Brill's son was emphasizing.

Joel Katzowitz
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posted 04-01-2013 07:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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dss65
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Gilbert
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posted 04-02-2013 10:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Kite
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rjb1elec
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Philip
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history in miniature
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Delta7
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Greggy_D
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astro-nut
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capoetc
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