On a recent tour of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, our Dad, Edward P Morse of Norwood MA, started pointing out instruments he had been responsible for during his illustrious engineering career. A graduate of Tufts BSEE and Northeastern MSEE, Ed began his career with Control Engineering working on guidance systems for many of the missiles standing in the corners of the Hazy museum. His early career also included working on a navigation system for the Polaris submarine using a microwave radiometer for sun and moon tracking.

While working for Itek Corp, a government contractor that specialized in high performance cameras for space reconnaissance, Ed was chief electrical engineer, manager of engineering and ultimately the Director of Engineering. Ed was involved in the cold war Corona program that allowed the US to photograph the Soviet Union with a camera with a resolution of 6ft. This project was top-secret and was only declassified during the Clinton Administration. Many of the instruments and the Corona camera are now housed in the Smithsonian and Hazy museums. Continuing our tour, Ed pointed out where the cameras he was responsible for were located on the Apollo capsule and the SR-71 Blackbird. In addition, he worked on a design for a large space telescope (LST), the forerunner of the Hubble Telescope. Ed also signed off on the proposal for the Viking Lander camera built by Itek.

All of these instruments in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum are just highlights of all the engineering designs that Ed was responsible for. Ed has a Gold Medallion for the Inventors Hall of Fame from the United States Patent Office for the patents he was awarded while at Itek.

Ed also has a tremendous interest in aviation which began at the outset of WWII. Ed was in the Army Air Corps as a radar technician. He was assigned to a B-29 bomber on Guam similar to the "Enola Gay". His yearning to fly never left him and at the age of 55, he got his pilot’s license. Wanting to be a better pilot, he became an aerobatic pilot and judge. He competed at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and became president of the New England Aerobatic Club.

We can’t think of a more deserving man to be recognized on the National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor than our Dad, Edward P Morse. Can you!