Dick has been interested in space exploration since the first Sputnik and Explorer satellites were launched which he saw passing overhead in the pre-dawn sky as he delivered the morning newspapers in Des Moines, Iowa. He watched news on TV and envied Chris Kraft as he announced each Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launch, accomplishments and splash down. A seventh-grade science class introduced him to the Solar System and deep space. After that, he borrowed a friends 1-inch refractor telescope to look at the night sky. At Iowa State University Dick took senior-level astronomy classes which included use of the school's 10-inch reflector. At the same time, he obtained a B.S. in Production Engineering with a minor in Aerospace Engineering. Dick worked at a major aerospace corporation on Viking Landers, TRS, Titan 34D, MMU, and the Space Shuttle RCS Tanks. After retiring, Dick moved to Casper, Wyoming, joined the Central Wyoming Astronomical Society and started volunteering at the Casper Planetarium. According to Dick, everything involved with astronomy and space exploration expands humankind's knowledge of the universe. That has all been an inherent part of his life's vocation and interest.