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Acknowledgments

Without technology champions, the hurdles of uncertainty and risk vie with cer-
tainty and programmatic pressure to prevent new technology insertions in space-
craft. A key role for these champions is to prevent obstacles from bringing
development and innovation to a sheer halt.
The editors have been fortunate to work with the New Millennium Program
(NMP) Team for Space Technology 5 (ST5) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC). In particular, Ted Swanson, as technology champion, and Donya
Douglas, as technology leader, created an environment that balanced certainty,
uncertainties, risks and pressures for ST5, micron-scale machines open and close
to vary the emissivity on the surface of a microsatellite radiator. These ‘‘VARI-E’’
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are a result of collaboration between
NASA, Sandia National Laboratories, and The Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). Special thanks also to other NASA ‘‘tech cham-
pions’’ Matt Moran (Glenn Research Center) and Fred Herrera (GSFC) to name a
few! Working with technology champions inspired us to realize the vast potential of
‘‘small’’ in space applications.
A debt of gratitude goes to our management team Dick Benson, Bill D’Amico,
John Sommerer, and Joe Suter and to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory for its support through the Janney Program. Our thanks are due to all the
authors and reviewers, especially Phil Chen, NASA, in residency for a year at the
laboratory. Thanks for sharing in the pain.
There is one person for whom we are indentured servants for life, Patricia M.
Prettyman, whose skills and abilities were and are invaluable.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC