Dr. Cataldo (PhD MIT Aero/Astro 2015) is a Systems Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Within the JWST project, he is currently in charge of developing a model-based systems engineering methodology for thermal model correlation optimization, which is being used to guide the thermal engineering team in their modeling and testing efforts. He is currently conducting one of the cryogenic vacuum tests at GSFC and will be directly involved with other tests at Johnson Space Center (JSC).”

ABSTRACT

The Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope in our quest to observe the first stars and galaxies formed out of the darkness of the early universe. JWST will help understand how these galaxies evolved over billions of years, how stars and planetary systems form, and what the building blocks of life are. JWST will use a ~6.5m-diameter primary mirror to collect infrared light, which will be analyzed by four scientific instruments. It will operate at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point and will have a five-layer sunshield to be able to work at cryogenic temperatures. JWST is an international effort of NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies and is scheduled to launch in October of 2018. This presentation will provide an overview of the project and describe its current development status. In addition, I will discuss some aspects of my work related to the optimization of complex large-scale systems. As a particular example, I will describe a model-based systems engineering methodology I developed to optimize parts of the JWST thermal system, which is absolutely critical for the proper functioning of this infrared telescope.

Host: Jeff Hoffman

Additional information about Dr. Cataldo