Walter Shigeharu Tsuha

June 19, 1958-April 7, 2022

We are so very heart-broken with the passing of Walter, so deeply loved & cherished husband, father, son, son-in law, brother & sister in law, step brothers, uncle, ohana-hawaii family, friends and his Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Cal-Tech family. He will be missed by everyone and forever remembered.

He worked at JPL for 38 years and our family would like share what his section manager at JPL Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering, Spacecraft Structure & Dynamics Group wrote about Walter's amazing career.

Job title/function: Senior Structures and Dynamics Subject Matter Expert

Projects/missions worked: Nearly all JPL flight missions dating back to 1984

Significant achievements/awards: Numerous awards including a NASA Honor Award -

Exceptional Public Service Medal, eight Group Achievement NASA Honor Awards, and

Voyager and Mariner Awards for leadership and technical excellence.

Walter joined JPL in 1984 and was an authority in the field of spacecraft and payload structural launch loads and dynamics. Walter significantly improved JPL’s capabilities for launching its missions through his exceptional sustained contributions. In his 38 years at JPL, Walter was integral to a long list of flight projects including Galileo, Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Deep Space 1, MER, SMAP, MSL, M2020, Europa Clipper, Psyche, and most recently SRL. Additionally, Walter was JPL’s primary interface with KSC/LSP, ULA, SpaceX, and other NASA centers including MSFC for the Space Launch System, and he collaborated with the European Space Agency, Applied Physics Lab, and the National Centre for Space Studies on launch loads, launch models, SoftRide systems, and launch environments.

Walter was recognized nationally as one of the leading experts in structural dynamics in the aerospace field, and was invited to be a member of the NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) Loads & Dynamics Technical Discipline Team. Walter recognized the importance of preparing others to lead, so in addition to his project and NESC commitments he was an engaged and patient mentor. With his open-door policy, Walter provided valuable insight and guidance to numerous JPL project managers, and to engineers at all career levels across multiple disciplines. Walter was a highly regarded expert who made numerous contributions to his discipline, and he accomplished all those things while exhibiting humility, kindness, and optimism. His cordial demeanor and cheerful attitude led many teams through challenging times.

Walter will certainly be missed, but his legacy will live on in the numerous tool and process improvements he led, the projects he worked, and people he impacted during his illustrious career. (written by Section manager which we are so grateful she wanted to contribute)

Private family funeral services held on May 6, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary at 23287 North Sierra Highway, Newhall, CA. Website: www.EternalValleyMemorialPark.com.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at:

Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary | Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery

Official site for Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary. A peaceful final resting place for loved ones in the Newhall community. Contact us to learn about our range of memorialization options.

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