Carl Sauer Jr.

A61-PIC-obit-Carl-Sauer-JrCarl G. Sauer Jr. , the grandfather of inter‐planetary trajectory optimization, passed away on November 12, 2015.

Born in Philadelphia in 1931, he spent his childhood in Salinas. Carl raised a menagerie of animals including brine shrimp and rabbits. A graduate of Salinas High School, Carl attended California Institute of Technology and received his BS degree in Science.

Carl married Eileen in 1955 and raised four children and a grandchild in La Crescenta. After the passing of his wife, Carl relocated to Canyon Lake, where he resided for two years.

Carl was a man of many interests and hobbies. He instilled in his family a respect for nature and science and a love of reading. He enjoyed raising many species of orchids in his greenhouse. A tropical fish enthusiast, Carl always had two or three tanks of colorful fish in the house.

Interested in geology, Carl would take his family panning for gold in the Sierras, camping in Lassen National Park, and often visited other areas of geological significance. Carl completed the crossword puzzle in the LA Times daily.

He played baseball at Cal Tech and continued playing softball with the JPL intramural league. He coached his daughters’ and granddaughter’s softball teams during the summer.   Carl enjoyed weekly bowling league for many years. He also enjoyed archery and remained a member in the USA Archery Association.

An amateur photographer, Carl enjoyed taking pictures of orchids, family and friends. He built his own TV (Heathkit), computer and telescope by hand and embarked upon many home improvement activities.

Well known for his work on inter-planetary trajectory optimization, Carl started his pioneering work while he was an astronomy student at the California Institute of Technology and tirelessly pursued to refine the art of solar system travel at Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more than 50 years.

He has been recognized as the originator of the formulation of low-thrust trajectory optimization. Along the way he also created a most mathematically rigorous chemical propulsion trajectory optimizer and played significant roles in enabling many NASA planetary missions.

In spite of his high caliber status, he has been most generous in helping co-workers without ever needing to be in the limelight. He has been a brilliant engineer and true gentleman, and will be missed by all who knew him.

Carl is survived by his daughters, Vicki Sauer of Salinas and Karen Ductor of Camarillo; and his grandchildren, Katrina Sauer, Corinna Ductor and Samuel Ductor. Additionally, he is survived by his birth family members: Arthur Sauer of Salinas and Penelope Dalton of Redwood City. Services will be held in La Crescenta at a future date.




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