We’ll have a special guest from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the June 9th SKYNET.

No, it won’t be Dr. Sheldon Cooper or Dr. Leonard Hofstadter on the air. But, on June 9, 2018 during Skynet, Kelley Miller K5KTX will be live from Pasadena, CA with Dr. Steve Townes, Chief Technologist, Interplanetary Network Directorate from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Barring any Echolink technical issues, Kelley will be interviewing Dr. Townes (WB4ILW) about his work with the Deep Space Network and about the history of the JPL Amateur Radio Club (where he is currently President). So, be sure to tune in to the DARC repeater on Saturday night, June 9, 2018 at 9:00pm CDT. Be there AND be square!

During Dr. Townes’ career at JPL he has been the Manager of the Communication Technologies and Standards Program Office, Deputy Manager of the Systems Concepts, Integration and Planning Office, Deputy Project Manager of the Mars Laser Communication Demonstration, Manager of the Communications Systems and Research Section, and an analyst for various projects related to the Deep Space Network. He is a Principal Engineer. He has also worked at The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA, in adaptive signal processing for communications and radar and at Stanford Telecommunications, Inc., Mountain View, CA, as an analyst for GPS and digital communications systems. He has a PhD, MS and BE in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University, Stanford University and Vanderbilt University respectively.