Doug Koupash

Keith’s note: a friend and former co-worker, Doug Koupash, has died unexpectedly. I worked with Doug at the Space Station Freedom Program Office in Reston, VA. We both worked in Utilization and Ops. I worked with the prospective science users, Doug did logistics – one of our “loggies”. We interacted almost daily and sat through endless (re)design reviews. He was one of the kindest folks I think I ever worked with at NASA. For some reason every time I was at some space event at the Reagan building in DC I’d bump into him in the food court – he went to work there for DHS after NASA. He was always upbeat. For those of you who know what we went through at SSFPO in Reston, we became a very tight bunch. Our Friday BBQ parties at Parkridge III and IV were legendary. The Space Station that is in orbit now carries a piece of every soul who helped design and build it – regardless of what name it was called then – or now. And we can see that legacy fly over our homes at night – true to our PR stuff at the time, it’s often the brightest object in the sky. Ad Astra Doug.