Article by Quinn Anderson

FLASHES

A Camera Tracking Lightning and a Glimpse of the Man Behind It

By Quinn Anderson

"He will work tirelessly for the benefit of the people around him, whether they are complete strangers or close family."

Denver, Colorado. Mark Anderson is sitting in a

Himalayan Indian restaurant with his coworker and friend Gary Heyman during a work trip. As the waiter sets the menus on the table, the two are informed that each dish can be ordered to a certain level of spiciness, a heat scale from 1-10. Heyman nobly selects a dish, requesting a respectable level 6. Anderson, knowing his own limits, orders a meek 3. The food is served, and the friends begin to eat. But soon enough, Anderson finds himself struggling.

“It was so spicy, he started breaking out in sweat,” Heyman recalls, laughing. “He thought the food was very good, and he was so concerned about offending the people… that he took it and he spread it around his plate...

He cares about people enough to not want to do something intentionally to hurt their feelings. That's just a simple stupid thing, Anderson at the GOES-R launch in Florida you know? But it gives you an idea that the way he looks at the world is with kindness.” Anderson was a stark outlier in his family when he moved to California to pursue Aerospace Engineering. From the so-called “deep roots” To Heyman, Anderson is more than an ex- suburbs of Minnesota, he left a comfortable, coworker. He worked alongside and then familiar setting to pursue an entirely under him for years at aerospace company contrasting world. Although his main focus Lockheed Martin, and what would usually be was landing himself a job at the state’s own a stiff acquaintance between an employee and branch of aerospace company Lockheed Martin, manager blossomed into a lifelong friendship. he was more than happy to end up in a techThe same vigor and care that was relinquished centered, fast moving place. “It was the pulse towards a single employee at a restaurant and the vibe of this area in particular, within is matched every day at his job, according Silicon Valley,” he reflected. “When I moved to to Heyman. At work, he is a “go-to person,” California, [my family] would tease me, because someone who helps out above and beyond his California is a more liberal type of state… I was managerial position in the company. My dad just really excited to come to a different area.” is no stereotypical portrayal of an engineer.

Although he’s often quiet and very logical in his thinking, he outwardly carries the reputation Anderson became infatuated with space as he of someone who is funny, personable, and grew up, citing inspirations such as astronomer outgoing. At home, he is an affectionate father Carl Sagan, who narrated the space-centered and a caring husband. Anderson’s ability to be series Cosmos in 1980. (Wikipedia) The first both gentle and assertive are what allows him ever Star Wars movie, released when he was 10 success in his field and strong relationships years old in 1977, sparked passion in his heart. with the people he loves. He will work tirelessly “It might seem silly now,” he commented; “[but] for the benefit of the people around him, whether believe it or not, that probably had a big impact.” they are complete strangers or close family. A couple years later, his time in high school

nurtured a love for working with his hands. He had access to classes centering in plastics, wood, and metals, as well as aviation and automotive electives. Together, a passion for space and a love for physical work blossomed into an aerospace career. “I had considered being in an astronomy field but decided against it because I like to build things too much,” Anderson noted.

After finishing his undergraduate at University of Minnesota, he moved to California to study at Stanford. 3 months after graduating, through the connections of friends and a long interview process, he landed a job at Lockheed Martin in 1990. Six years later, he met my mom, and by September of 1997 they were wed. They settled down in Menlo Park, buying a house and having my sister and I. Once at Lockheed, Anderson spent the next 30 years working on various projects, with his most recent being a lightning tracking camera launched on space satellite GOES-17

The GOES-R satellite being transported via truck

in 2018. GOES, or Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, are a series of weather satellites that help millions of people track the weather and stay out of harm’s way.

(NOAA) His specific project is called GLM, or the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which is a camera that records lightning strikes in real time. It provides a 24/7 database that is used by meteorologists across the country to alert people about thunderstorms and tornadoes days or

Anderson in the clean room

hours before they strike. Other natural disasters, including flash flooding and tropical cyclones, can also be accounted for just by tracking lightning patterns. (GLM) “Ultimately, it's a set of data that anyone can access,” Anderson says. Information from a number of satellites, including his team’s GOES 16 and 17, can be found on this Colorado State website. Anderson himself started working as an engineer, but has been promoted to a manager and now runs a team of 40 in Lockheed’s aerospace division.

I’ve spent most of my life with a rudimentary idea of who my dad is. His life and person have always felt a bit abstract to me, the most obvious example of this being my hazy understanding of his job. For someone who couldn’t tell you for the life of them what exactly it was he created, I spent a lot of my elementary school years bragging about how he was an actual rocket scientist. I grew up spending half my time in a classroom, namely whichever one my mom was teaching in during any given year. I’ve been fully immersed in her life—I’ve spent time with all her friends and helped her out in her classroom; I know her favorite Bruce Springsteen song and I’ve read her old journals.

My dad is simply a different person. Growing up has proved this, because as good as a parent he’s always been to me, it’s clear being around young children is not his forte. Therefore, the most recent years of my life have begun to reveal to me someone who shows themselves most through their actions rather than their words.

but by giving them help and talking them through unfortunate situations. He does not back down from taking on a burden if it means the comfort or ease of someone he cares for.

Anderson and Claire on a plane to Boston

My sister Claire is 3 years older than me and a freshman in college. She left home for the first time in January, starting at Boston University across the country in Massachusetts. She was delighted to get into one of her top schools, but the process was anything but simple. She had no declared major, which made choosing one college out of thousands of specialized schools seem almost impossible. My dad helped her through the entire way. While many of her friends worked with advisors hired by their parents, she and my dad scoured online resources and books hundreds of pages long, watching lectures, reading websites, sending emails, scheduling tours. It was meticulous, painstaking work, and a completely new process for my father. When asked about finding a college, he told me, “I knew that for... an Aerospace Engineering degree there was only a select number of schools that were close by... So I was pretty limited with what choices I had.” Choosing U of M for him was obvious- it had his major and he could be relatively close to home. He had no preparation or experience in picking one of thousands of schools, but he learned all he could about it just for Claire’s benefit. Towards the end when things got rough and Claire was beginning to worry she wouldn’t get into any of her top schools, he was there for her emotionally, comforting her and staying optimistic. My dad expresses care to the people he loves not by telling them so directly,

My dad’s job at Lockheed is an incredibly important part of his life; it is something he is invested in deeply and enjoys working hard at. Despite his zeal, however, it can be an overwhelming and exhausting experience for himself and his colleagues. “GLM was the hardest program I've ever worked on,” Heyman explains. “And it's not because of the people, it's not because of the technical challenges…

We lost like two years of schedule because of some component problems.” When working on GOES-17, things went south– power distribution electronics failed during testing. The components were from out of state, provided by a company on the east coast, and it was a brutal setback. “There's a lot of explaining to do to your congresspeople,” Anderson detailed, describing how NASA was forced to testify in court and request more money for the program.

They received the grant, but were forced to keep on launch schedule despite the failure. The California division found themselves traveling back and forth to Denver, Colorado to collaborate with other engineers. “We got pretty good at cancelling and remaking our flights,” my dad recalled, laughing. Ultimately, the team was able to finish in time, but it took constant strain on workers. Looking back on the experience, Heyman emphasized the impact of Anderson’s efforts. Anderson was a manager at the time, overseeing 40 people, and constantly in and out of meetings. However, his skill as an engineer persisted, and he continued to put it to work. “He knew that if he didn't help it would cause people a lot of stress and I think he was willing to take that strain on himself.” (Heyman) Despite being as busy as everyone else, Anderson continued to go beyond his position for the wellbeing of his colleagues. He holds a clear value for the people he works with, proved through his exuberant work calls that often dissolve into jokes and laughter. He cares deeply for his team, and shows them the same kind of affection demonstrated to his family: assistance in

About the Author Anderson and his wife on vacation

anything they need and a drive to help complete their work to relieve some of their tension.

Anderson plans to stay at Lockheed until he retires in a decade or two. His team is still working on the GOES satellite series, with the next instrument, GOES-T, scheduled to take flight in December of 2021. In terms of the future of astronomy, Anderson explained: “[It will] grow beyond now just launching a robotic thing to launching people, going back to the moon and developing the kind of infrastructure that's gonna be needed to maintain instead of going once.” He noted that such a future, including the desire to find more inhabitable planets, is past his time and perhaps is a couple generations away. On the side, Anderson is busy with his parental duties, helping to guide Claire through adult life and myself through the college process.

The rest of my life will be spent following in his footsteps. I may not choose a career like his, or end up living in the same place, but I hope to carry with me his ability to express a sort of silent compassion that is shown through helping others and enduring the worst for them.

Heyman has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon either. “Even though I'm retired, I'm gonna be your dad's friend until he can't stand me,” he said, laughing. “Which I hope is never.”

Quinn Anderson is a junior and an Animation student at MVHS’ Freestyle Academy. She enjoys digital art, spending time with her friends, and doing puzzles.