Parsippany astronaut accepts Picatinny honor for late dad

PICATINNY ARSENAL - Long before Parsippany native Garrett Reisman became a NASA astronaut assigned to the International Space Station, his dad was a key member of the brain trust at Picatinny Arsenal, developing high-tech munitions.

Reisman and his mother, Sheila Reisman, accepted his late father Robert Reisman's induction into the Picatinny Arsenal Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command Ammunition Hall of Fame on Friday.

"I spent a lot of time here as a kid," Garrett Reisman said. "I was lucky as a kid. I was the only kid on my block to have a tank round in my garage. Pretty sure it was a dummy round. I'm not really sure, but I had a lot of bragging rights."

The Reismans shared the spotlight with two other inductees to the hall, which was created in 2011 to memorialize and honor those who have made significant contributions to the U.S. Amy ammunition mission. This year's class included Christoph Kimker, a resident of Mine Hill since age 9 who retired in 2002 from Picatinny, where he was a leader in the Armament Enhancement Initiative, including advancement of an explosive round that embodied the military's first anti-helicopter defense capability.

"I never thought I would receive this award," Kimker said. "I'm very excited about it. I think it's fantastic. And I would be very remiss if I didn't mention that I did not do any of this by myself. I had a team of people that I worked with, my family, my friends were all instrumental. Never would have happened without them."

Retired Col. Raymond Pawlicki, who during his career advanced a 120-millimeter M829A1 kinetic energy munition known as "the silver bullet" for its devastating effects on enemy armor, was also honored Friday. Additional Class of 2016 inductees — John L. Byrd, Louis Dellamonica, Dale Pollard and Brigadier Gen. (Ret.) John Pitman — were honored at a previous ceremony,

For Garrett Reisman, now director of space operations for the private aerospace manufacturer and transport company SpaceX, the visit to Picatinny brought back memories of visiting his father at work and learning about the high-tech research being conducted at Picatinny.

"As a young student in high school physics, as somebody looking to get into aerospace science, it was really inspiring," he said. "They would have open houses and we would come for that. They had guys coming out of the helicopters, repelling down onto the golf course. The golfers may have been a little scared seeing that. But it was really fun for us. Coming back here and having this opportunity meant a lot to me, because I knew it was a chance to bring him back for a little bit."

"Mr. Reisman had a decorated government-service career," ceremony host Tim Rider said of Robert Reisman, who died in 2002. "His career touched every stage throughout the acquisition life cycle and spanned across many armament products, from tank ammunition prior to and during the Cold War to (being) the Army's champion for the operation of smart or precision munitions. He retired as head of the Army's Science and Technology group."

His son, who made appearances on "The Colbert Report" from outer space, is known for his sense of humor. But it was his mother who got the biggest laugh of the day.

"He spent more time here than he did at home," Sheila Reisman said of her husband, who died in 2002. "I'm surprised I got two children out of this marriage."

Kimker spoke at length about the people he wanted to share his honor with, including family members and friends who attended the ceremony and "who also played an important role of dulling the edges of an unfinished me as I worked my way up."

He also spoke about working with their Robert Reisman for many years.

"He was first and foremost a gentleman, an excellent engineer, innovator and leader," Kimker said, looking at Garrett Reisman. "He got it done. And I know why you are in the position you're in. Your dad was something else."

Robert Reisman previously was honored by Picatinny, which named the 215-foot Robert A. Reisman Precision Armaments Laboratory tower in his honor. The tower, which can bee seen from many vantage points in western Morris County, is used by scientists to study how various weather conditions affect electromagnetic signals. 

Kimker also took time to praise Pawlicki, "A free thinker, full of ideas, and I believe he personally invented the saying 'to think out of the box.' "

Later in the day, Garrett Reisman was scheduled to speak to students at Roxbury High School before heading back to California, where SpaceX is hoping to launch a payload of next-generation satellites on its Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 16. It will be the first launch by the company since one of its rockets exploded on a launch pad in September.

"We still need FAA approval, so we're still waiting on the paperwork," Reisman said. "We certainly hope to be back in the air soon."

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.