Session 3

12:30 - 1:30 PM PDT
Education 1

Spacechats: Astronauts, Pilots and Engineers Visit the Classroom

Presenter: Katrina Carter-Jornet & Ron Rosano

How This New Era of Commercial Space Flight Inspires Students Around The World.

Ron Rosano has a 25+ years of experience discussing astronomy and space travel with students of all ages. Beginning in 1995, he has led presentations and in-class activities with many thousands of K-12 students and the public, and is a NASA Solar System Ambassador. Ron has closely followed NASA and other space missions ever since the Apollo lunar flights, and was credited for his work on NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Ron has been active in public telescope viewing with the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers, and serves on the Advisory Council of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Board of Advisors of the Human Space Program, and Board of Directors of the Nepal Youth Foundation.

Katrina Carter-Journet is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Katrina has a BS in Physics (concentration in mathematics) from Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, LA). She has a MS in Biophysics (focus in biomedical engineering) from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). Katrina has worked in multiple industries ranging from Astrophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace, to Oil & Gas.

However, her passion has always been aerospace. Katrina began her professional career studying gravitational-wave astrophysics at the LIGO Livingston-Observatory, part of a joint project between Caltech and MIT. Drawn by the idea that the Earth is just one glorious piece of the universe, she eventually transitioned her interest to human space exploration by supporting various projects and programs at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Katrina contributed to Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) analyses for the Space Shuttle Program, Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRA) for the International Space Station, and supported R&M for new Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) designs for future missions back to the moon and beyond.

That same desire to continue to see the evolution of human space exploration led her to accept an amazing opportunity to work at Virgin Galactic as an Engineering Specialist supporting R&M. In this next phase of Katrina’s career, she is excited to focus on making space accessible to the public and allowing everyday citizens to embark on a transformative journey of a lifetime.

Katrina is also an active member of Virgin Galactic’s STEM outreach initiative, Galactic Unite, and one of the Coordinators for the Galactic Unite Black Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship & Training (BLAST) Program.