Two-Time Shuttle Payload Specialist Was 56

An astronomer and computer specialist who went on to fly on two space shuttle missions has lost a three-year battle with brain cancer. Former shuttle payload specialist Dr. Ronald A. Parise, PhD, died at his home in Silver Spring, MD on Friday. He was 56.

Parise was one of the developers of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, and used the device to study stars and other celestial objects during shuttle missions in 1990 and 1995.

Born in 1951 in Warren, OH, Parise earned his amateur radio license at age 11 and remained active in ham radio using the call sign WA4SIR.

The Houston Chronicle reports as a teenager, he became active in the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society and built two telescopes. He also learned to fly small aircraft, which his wife told the paper became a life-long joy until his disease became advanced. Parise also earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Youngstown State University, and master's and doctorate degrees in astronomy from the University of Florida.

In 1984, he became a NASA payload specialist, working on several technical projects in addition to spending 614 hours in orbit

and traveling 10.6 million miles in space. Parise refined and packaged a small ham radio station which could be used from the shuttles, bringing the thrill of direct voice contact with an orbiting astronaut to thousand of schoolchildren through SAREX, the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment. The program has been a public relations bonanza for NASA.

After 12 years with NASA, Parise held several other space, astronomy and computer-related jobs. He's survived by his wife, the former Cecelia Sokol, whom he met at Youngstown State; a son, Nicholas, who's in the Air Force; and a daughter, Katherine, who lives in Silver Spring.

Services will be held at 10 am Friday at Resurrection Catholic Church in Burtonsville, MD. The family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be sent to Youngstown State University Foundation's Dr. Ronald A. Parise Scholarship fund.

FMI: www.nasa.gov