July 17, 2019
T-MINUS 3 DAYS: How U.S. Space Exploration Influenced One Employee’s Career as a Radio Engineer
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing, we are revisiting our archives to reflect on our history of “firsts” and how it has shaped our commitment to innovation through mission-critical communications.
My curiosity for space exploration started when I was just 5 years old as I watched televised broadcasts of the Gemini flights.
A few years later, I listened to the voice of Jim Lovell and his crew as they spoke to us from the orbit around the moon on Christmas Eve 1968.
And finally, watching Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969, I knew I had to be an engineer.
Shortly after the Apollo 13 mission, my fourth grade teacher arranged for me to meet Jim Lovell, a NASA astronaut and mechanical engineer. I shared with him my interest in communications and radio, and he told me to never give up, pursue the education required and make my contribution to the world.
Today, I’m an engineer at Motorola Solutions – the company that not so coincidentally provided the communications equipment Neil Armstrong used to communicate between the moon and Earth.
My work includes radio frequency (RF) hardware infrastructure systems including narrowband and broadband systems; regulatory and Federal Communications Commision (FCC) licensing matters; RF propagation analysis and related topics including technical analysis of forward-looking infrastructure systems.
My career is founded upon the influence of astronauts like Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee, Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong. The Apollo program and these men were influential throughout my life and led to my passion for and career in mission-critical communications at Motorola Solutions.
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Greg Buchwald is a member of the Motorola Amatuer Radio Club (MARC) and a distinguished member of the technical staff, infrastructure product organization at Motorola Solutions.
My curiosity for space exploration started when I was just 5 years old as I watched televised broadcasts of the Gemini flights.
A few years later, I listened to the voice of Jim Lovell and his crew as they spoke to us from the orbit around the moon on Christmas Eve 1968.
And finally, watching Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969, I knew I had to be an engineer.
Shortly after the Apollo 13 mission, my fourth grade teacher arranged for me to meet Jim Lovell, a NASA astronaut and mechanical engineer. I shared with him my interest in communications and radio, and he told me to never give up, pursue the education required and make my contribution to the world.
Today, I’m an engineer at Motorola Solutions – the company that not so coincidentally provided the communications equipment Neil Armstrong used to communicate between the moon and Earth.
My work includes radio frequency (RF) hardware infrastructure systems including narrowband and broadband systems; regulatory and Federal Communications Commision (FCC) licensing matters; RF propagation analysis and related topics including technical analysis of forward-looking infrastructure systems.
My career is founded upon the influence of astronauts like Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee, Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong. The Apollo program and these men were influential throughout my life and led to my passion for and career in mission-critical communications at Motorola Solutions.
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Greg Buchwald is a member of the Motorola Amatuer Radio Club (MARC) and a distinguished member of the technical staff, infrastructure product organization at Motorola Solutions.
