by Dave Nordling, Reaction Research Society

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It is with great shock and sadness, the society announces the untimely passing of society member and our prior director of research, Richard Garcia, on July 5, 2024.

Richard Joseph Garcia was born November 12, 1984, in Visalia, California to Stanley and Michelle Garcia.  He graduated with an associate of arts degree from College of the Sequoias and later from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona in 2007 with his bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering.  As a professional, he worked for Firefly Space Systems, Masten Space Systems, Aero Systems Engineering, Minnetronix and was an IPT Team Leader at Teledyne-Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama.

Judging from website entries, Richard became active in the RRS before 2013. I came to know him in 2015 and the years following.  During his working years in California, Richard commuted to each of the monthly meetings in Gardena from California City over 100 miles in distance one-way, fighting LA traffic on Friday nights. Richard was a major part of the 2017 RRS symposium, the first in over 20 years which led to the recurring symposium events we now hold in most years.  Richard was responsible for discovering and bringing back the donated LNG horizontal cylinder at the RRS which is soon to become a viable and useful asset at the MTA in this year.  Richard’s residence in California City made him a convenient aid to our Mojave Test Area on many occasions and his machining skills were valuable to other members in their projects.

Through his relentless work ethic and years of reliable support to the society, Richard was appointed as the second director of research at the society, a role only held once prior decades earlier by George Dosa. He retained the role for several years even after leaving California attending meetings remotely during the pandemic and serving the society from two or three timezones away.  He was serving as a committee reviewer on the RRS Regen Engine Competition that started July 1, 2024.

Few could match Richard’s spirit, kindness, intellect, passion and genuine and prolific desire to share and expand knowledge. Richard assisted with and performed numerous projects at the MTA and authored several technical articles on RRS.ORG for the society sharing good practices and helping to make the practice of rocketry safer and more accessible.  He loved the Mojave desert and was a major driving force in the society’s growth in the decade of 2010.  

More locally in Huntsville, Alabama, Richard was active in two hacker spaces and was involved with many projects inside and outside of work. Richard built his own telescope in preparation for the 2024 eclipse earlier this year.

Richard is survived by his wife, Jeannie Riddles, his mother Michelle, his brother Russel, and sister Darleen, nieces Kadence, Kylie, Katelynn and Laura, and a nephew, Leo.  He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley.

No services are planned.  After consulting with his wife, in lieu of flowers, she said that rocketry was Richard’s largest passion and that donations to the RRS could be made in his honor.  Please contact the RRS vice president or any of the executive council if anyone wishes to honor Richard.  The Reaction Research Society Inc., of Los Angeles, California, is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization dedicated to amateur rocketry.

vicepresident@rrs.org

president@rrs.org

secretary@rrs.org

treasurer@rrs.org

research@rrs.org

The RRS publicly announced the news to the attending membership of the society at the July 12th monthly meeting at the Compton/Woodley Airport.  The society will email our full membership roster soon.

 A memorial launch event for Richard Garcia at the RRS MTA is being planned for September 7, 2024. Contact the RRS president for details. I will be the pyrotechnic operator in charge. Updates to this article will tell more as it develops.

Ad astra, Richard Garcia.  You will be missed.

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