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Memorial Tributes Volume 21 (2017) / Chapter Skim
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F. ROBERT NAKA
Pages 286-291

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From page 287...
... DAVIS SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY FUMIO ROBERT NAKA, former deputy director of the N ­ ational Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and a pioneer in the development of stealth technology for concealing military aircraft from enemy radar systems, passed away at the age of 90 on December 21, 2013, in Concord, Massachusetts.
From page 288...
... Engineers later employed this radar transmitter design for BMEWS tracking radars at the Thule Air Force Base in Greenland, Clear Air Force Station in Alaska, and Royal Air Force station in Fylingdales, England. Bob's deep expertise in radar systems led to his selection in 1956 to work in secret on the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
From page 289...
... Eventually, he became technical director of MITRE's Applied Science Laboratories, where he was responsible for about a quarter of the company's business, overseeing departments for radar, communications, and data processing, among others. In 1968 the commanders of Air Force Systems Command and Air Defense Command appointed Bob director of a highly classified study to improve the surveillance of objects in space.
From page 290...
... Over more than a half-century Bob was active on numerous industrial, scientific, and government advisory boards, including the NASA Space Program Advisory Council. In the early 1990s he chaired an MIT summer study on spacebased radar that thoroughly examined use of satellite radar to track aircraft, including stealth aircraft, and in 1996–1997 he chaired an AFSAB ad hoc committee that drafted a significant report on Space Surveillance, Asteroids and Comets, and Space Debris.
From page 291...
... Through it all he demonstrated admirable personal strength, perseverance, a high degree of intellect and adaptability, and a willingness to work hard and collaborate with others on matters of considerable importance to our national security. Reflecting on his mindset during those years, Bob described his motivation: "What made me work for the government that had deprived me and my family of civil liberties?


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