Intrepid Museum
Virtual Astronomy Live
The James Webb Space Telescope Launch
Past EVENT
Thursday, Oct 21st, 2021
5:30 PM EST
The James Webb Space Telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the legacy of earlier space-based telescopes to push the boundaries of human knowledge even further, from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the evolution of our own Solar System.
As the James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in Winter 2021, the team at NASA is preparing to begin science operations over the following several months. Viewers will hear from Webb team members, as they give a behind-the-scenes look at how they are getting ready for the launch and commissioning, that will culminate with the release of Webb’s first scientific images in summer 2022.
A pre-show will take place at 5:00pm EST with an Interactive Talk by Lead Teaching Artist / Museum Educator, Elysia Segal, from the Intrepid Museum.
The event is hosted and co-produced by John “Das” Galloway, founder of the Kerbal Space Academy.
This program is supported through a NASA Cooperative Agreement awarded to the New York Space Grant Consortium.
Participants
Begoña Vila
Webb Instruments Systems Engineer
Dr. Begoña Vila is an Instrument Systems Engineer for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. She supported Webb's cryogenic testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in 2017, she will support testing for the observatory throughout 2018, and she is also helping plan Webb's commissioning. Vila actively engages in Spanish and English media interviews and outreach activities for the Webb program, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) events.
Bill Ochs
Webb Project Manager
Bill Ochs has 30+ years of experience in the aerospace industry. He has worked in both private industry and for NASA and is currently the Project Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope. Ochs received a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Masters in Operations Research from George Washington University. He began his career in 1979 with the Bendix Guidance Systems Division in Teterboro, N.J. as an electronics/software engineer, developing the flight software for the Hubble Space Telescope safing system.
John “Das”Galloway
Host and Producer
“Das” is a science outreach communicator who specializes in live, interactive video content. He is the creator of the Kerbal Space Academy, where he uses video games as a tool to start science and engineering conversations with viewers of all ages, and VECTORS Virtual Field Trips, which brings real-time interactive video to museums, events, and historical locations. “Das” also serves as a host and producer for NASASpaceflight.com.
Produced by Intrepid Museum in partnership with Kerbal Space Academy and Egress Productions, LLC.