Michael John Bartnett
Mike received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Communications from Clarkson University in 1978 and used his skills to keep WTSC-FM, the college radio station on the air. In 1984 Mike received his Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering and Radar Communications from Syracuse University. As a young boy Mike was fascinated with NASA and space and his rocketry hobby literally launched the career of his dreams. At the 1969 National Boy Scout Jamboree, Mike along with thousands of scouts watched the moon landing. The next summer at age 14, Mike launched an accurate model replica of the Saturn 5 rocket at the 1970 Schenectady Council Scout-In at the Ballston Spa Fairground in upstate New York stunning hundreds of onlookers. Mike’s achievements included receiving the coveted Silver Snoopy NASA award in 1997 in recognition of his project leadership on the International Space Station, an honor given only to 1% of the NASA engineers that ensure flight safety and mission success. He also received many other awards during his aerospace career and currently has a patent pending on techniques for satellite assembly and testing. Mike’s communication systems are on the International Space Station, the Mars Pathfinder, the ViaSat Satellites orbiting above us, and many more. Mike was that rare intelligent yet empathetic human being with a huge sense of humor. He was an honorable man, an Eagle scout, Cub Master, Boy Scout leader, a licensed private pilot, model train collector, and a model rocketeer.His love, laughter, and kindness, will live on in all who knew him, and his passion for science and space exploration will continue to inspire us all. Though gone from our sight, his light remains among the stars.