Weekly Space Hangout: June 5, 2019 – Jean Wright, NASA’s Seamstress to the Stars

Hosts:
Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)
Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier )
Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org)
Dr. Brian Koberlein (briankoberlein.com / @BrianKoberlein)

This week, we welcome Jean Wright to the show. Jean is one of 18 seamstresses in the crucial role of Space Shuttle Thermal Protection Specialist. Jean and her co-workers, who dubbed their group “The Sew Sisters,” used machine and hand stitching to build, create, and repair thermal protection flight hardware and parachutes that were used on the Space Shuttle program and Orion.

Jean currently works as a Docent at the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex where she educates and entertains guests. She is a member of NASA’s Speakers Bureau and as such represents NASA at civic, professional, educational, and public events.

One of the biggest thrills for Jean was being asked by Mark Armstrong, son of Neil Armstrong, to cut and prepare for auction pieces of historic muslin fabric from the Wright Brothers’ 1903 Flyer that his father had carried to the moon aboard the Apollo 11 Lunar Module!

You can learn more about Jean by visiting https://slackhq.com/seamstress-to-the-literal-stars

Announcements:
Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are specific ways you can help:
* Donate! (Streamlabs link) https://streamlabs.com/cosmoquestx
* Donate and challenge your friends to donate too! (Tiltify link) https://tiltify.com/+cosmoquest-supporters/hangoutathon2018
* Buy stuff from our Redbubble https://www.redbubble.com/people/cosmoquestx
* Help us find sponsors by sharing our program and fundraising efforts through your networks
* Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast https://www.patreon.com/astronomycast
* Sponsor 365 Days of Astronomy http://bit.ly/sponsor365DoA
* A combination of the above!

If you would like to join the Weekly Space Hangout Crew, visit their site here and sign up. They’re a great team who can help you join our online discussions!

If you’d like to join Dr. Paul Sutter and Dr. Pamela Gay on their Cosmic Stories in the SouthWest Tour in August 2019, you can find the information at astrotours.co/southwest.

We record the Weekly Space Hangout every Wednesday at 5:00 pm Pacific / 8:00 pm Eastern. You can watch us live on Universe Today, or the Weekly Space Hangout YouTube page – Please subscribe!

The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest.