Intrepid Museum Announces First-Ever Virtual Astronomy Live, Friday, April 24
Star-Studded Lineup of Astronauts and Astrophysicists to Celebrate 30 years of Hubble Space Telescope; Share Tips on Dealing with Isolation
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will host its first-ever Virtual Astronomy Live on Friday, April 24 from 2:00PM to 3:30PM ET at http://kerbalspaceacademy.com/intrepid. Join astronauts Charles F. Bolden Jr., Mike Massimino and Nicole Scott, along with astrophysicist Frank Summers, for this free event that celebrates 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope, and examines the parallels between isolation in space and the conditions many are experiencing during the current pandemic.
The event is hosted and co-produced by John “Das” Galloway, founder of the Kerbel Space Academy, and moderated bySummer Ash, an astrophysicist, rocket scientist and freelance writer.
Hubble is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space, providing an unobstructed view of the universe. Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system. Hubble’s launch and deployment in April 1990 marked the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope. Thanks to five servicing missions and more than 25 years of operation, our view of the universe and our place within it has never been the same.
The guests will also take a look ahead at the significance of the James Webb Space Telescope, the planned successor to Hubble.
The conversation will then shift to a topical discussion on how astronauts dealt with isolation in space and how their experience can help the rest of us to manage the current situation.
The Intrepid Museum’s Astronomy Nights are generously supported by New York Space Grant Consortium.
Participants
Charles F. Bolden Jr: General Bolden is a former astronaut and retired United States Marine Corps Major General. He flew on four Space Shuttle missions and piloted STS-31 in April, 1990, the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. As the 12th NASA Administrator, from 2009 to 2017, General Bolden oversaw the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet and set the groundwork for human spaceflight initiatives for the future. He is a member of the Intrepid Museum’s board of trustees.
Mike Massimino: Mike Massimino is a former NASA astronaut and currently a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University in New York City. He has flown in space twice, each time making two spacewalks on repair and servicing missions of the Hubble Space Telescope. Massimino appeared as himself on five episodes of the hit show, The Big Bang Theory. His autobiography Spaceman was recently adapted and released for young readers. Massimino is the senior advisor of space programs at the Intrepid Museum.
Nicole Stott: Nicole Stott is an engineer and retired NASA astronaut. She flew as a Mission Specialist on two space shuttle missions and as a Flight Engineer on Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 on the International Space Station. In total, she has logged more than 104 days in orbit. Nicole was also an aquanaut crew member on a NASA NEEMO training mission on the undersea laboratory called Aquarius, where she lived and worked with a six-person crew for 18 days. Today she is an artist and uses her talent to inspire creative thinking about solutions to our planetary challenges. She is the founder of the Space for Art Foundation.
Frank Summers: Frank Summers is an outreach astrophysicist who illuminates and elucidates the awesome beauty and intricate wonders of our universe. For two decades, he has contributed to all aspects of the Hubble Space Telescope press, education, and outreach through news media, websites, educational programs, social media, museums and planetariums. Frank is renowned for his work in scientific visualization, and has worked on several IMAX films. In addition, he once held the Guinness World Record for “Largest Astronomy Lesson.”
Moderator
Summer Ash: Summer Ash has been both a rocket scientist and an astrophysicist. She is a freelance science writer and communicator whose work has been published in The Atlantic, NBC News, Smithsonian, Now.Space, Scientific American, Slate, and Nautilus.
Host
John “Das” Galloway: “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.
