Richard Aran Goldberg, of Silver Spring, died on Nov. 2.
He leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Paula (Erlick) Goldberg; his daughter, Lisa Goldberg and her husband, Stefan Gunther; his granddaughter, Andi; his sister, Bonnie Lewis; and many other relatives and close friends. He was predeceased by his brother, Lawrence Goldberg.
Dr. Goldberg was born in Boston to Samuel and Ida Goldberg and raised in Swampscott, Mass. In 1963, he began his career at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a physicist and rocket scientist. He worked at NASA for 50 years until his retirement in 2013. He conducted scientific studies of the middle and upper atmosphere and ionosphere using sounding rockets.
International partnerships led to projects around the world, including Sweden, Norway, Peru, Brazil, India and Spain. He co-authored numerous scientific papers, along with the book “Sun, Weather and Climate” in 1978.
Contributions may be made to the Georgetown University Movement Disorders Clinic (neurology.georgetown.edu/fund-a-fellow/) or the JSSA Hospice Program (jssa.org/give/).
Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
