Passing of James Leroy Long (1955 - 2019)
Release Date: 09/30/2019The Space Geodesy Project is mourning the loss of our dear friend and colleague James Leroy Long who passed away on September 21, 2019 from prostate cancer complications.

Jim was a leader and essential contributor to the nation's space geodesy programs over the past 40 years. Jim began his career in 1978 as a Commissioned Officer within the US Department of Commerce NOAA Corps. For two years, Jim was the Party Chief for the transportable 5-meter antenna system collecting Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data in support of the NASA Crustal Dynamics Program and the NOAA National Crustal Motion Network. These measurements led to the first measurements of continental drift. Jim also spent several years on mobile field duty for the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey performing precise horizontal control surveys and special project surveys. He also spent 2.5 years on board a NOAA National Ocean Service hydrographic survey ship performing horizontal and vertical control surveys, collecting hydrographic survey data for updating navigational charts, and ship board operations.

In 1984, Jim went to work for what eventually became Honeywell Technology Solutions as the Lead Civil Engineer for a multi-disciplinary group providing architectural and engineering services to the Federal Government, including NASA. He was responsible for precise geodetic surveys in support of the NASA Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Program, the NASA VLBI Program, as well as NOAA, USAF, and USN satellite tracking and communications stations. He was also responsible for precise geodetic surveys for installation and/or refurbishment of 9-meter unified S-band antennae at NASA STDN satellite tracking stations located all around the world.

In 2009, Jim came to GSFC as the Lead Civil Engineer in the Facilities Engineering Branch. Jim's experience and expertise in VLBI and SLR was quickly recognized by the Space Geodesy Project (SGP), so he started splitting his time between his Facilities duties and becoming the lead for the SGP Vector Tie System (VTS). Jim led the development of an automated system for monitoring the stability of a geodetic site. He successfully implemented a prototype of the system at the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory, which is the basis for the VTS being implemented at all next-generation SGP sites. Jim's unique expertise and passion for space geodesy led him to transition full time to SGP within the Sciences and Exploration Directorate where he took on multiple roles as the VLBI Operations Manager, VTS Lead, and the Site Development Lead.

One of Jim's particularly notable accomplishments is the production of geodetic site ties for numerous NASA geodetic sites. These ties are essential for combining the measurements from the different geodetic techniques in the realizations of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) that is used by all Earth Observation satellites to geolocate their measurements on the Earth’s surface. The location of the origin of all of NASA's global geodetic stations on the ITRF is now known to within 1.5 mm thanks to Jim's expertise and dedication to the grueling task of global surveying. Without the precision geodetic surveys and analysis that Jim led, the quality of the ITRF would not be as good as it is today. Jim's accomplishments to geodetic site ties are internationally recognized and Jim was a critical member of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service Working Group on Site Survey and Co-location.

A memorial gathering to celebrate Jim's life will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Community in the Formation and Fellowship Center in Sykesville, MD from 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm. All are welcome to attend this Celebration of Life.