A Black engineer is being lauded for saving NASA’s telescope project that previously had been stalled by delays.
According to reports, the James Webb Space Telescope is the biggest observatory built for navigating through space. It was initially supposed to launch in 2010, but NASA ran into financial roadblocks, eventually propelling into space on Dec. 25, 2021.
NASA released the first set of images captured by the telescope on July 12, from some of the deepest corners of space that have never been seen before.
Even though Gregory Robinson has worked overseeing space missions and projects and examining satellite data since the late ’80s, he told NPR that he was still stunned by the images. A humbling account by Robinson, who stepped into the role of director in March 2018 and rescued the troubled project.
“Well, I was just in awe. It brings a picture to life, image to life, and each one of them from the deep fill to exoplanets, all the way through,” he said. “So yes, just like the rest of the world, I was stunned.”
Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science, had asked Robinson to take over the project. He said Robinson not only had the experience reviewing more than 100 science missions for NASA, but he also knew how to work a room and build relationships.
“You needed somebody who could get the trust of the team and what we needed to figure out was what was wrong with the team,” Zurbuchen said. “The speed at which he turned this thing around was just astounding.”
Robinson started working at NASA in 1989. A Howard University engineer graduate, Robinson said he never thought about space as a child of tobacco sharecroppers. He found his ticket off the tobacco farm through sports, securing an athletic scholarship to Virginia Union University in Richmond before transferring to the HBCU.
“I was halfway decent in math and science. I really enjoyed it, and I thought I was a top-notch football player, and for my high school and my county and my district, I probably was” until “the real athletes showed up” in college, he said.
When Robinson started at NASA, there were very few Black people, especially in leadership positions he secured over the years. Robinson said there are more Black engineers at NASA nowadays, but there could still be more.
“Certainly, people seeing me in this role is an inspiration,” he said, “and also it’s acknowledging they can be there, too.”
Within months of his new assignment as director of the James Webb Space Telescope Program, Robinson improved the schedule efficiency by 40 percent, up to 95 percent.
The budget for the project had jumped from $1 billion to $3.5 billion in 2010, as officials leaned on Congress for money. Even then, it was moved to 2014, then to 2018. With that launch date, NASA estimated it would cost $8.8 million.
The telescope was completely built by 2016, but testing revealed errors, including faulty wiring and loose screws, among several others. The errors cost the program $600 million and caused 18 months of delays, reports show. Some members of Congress wanted to cancel it.
When Robinson took over, he followed all 32 of the recommendations in the report. Engineers still encountered some hurdles in the last leg of the launch, delaying the final takeoff by nine months.
After solving one of NASA’s pressing issues, Robinson said he is now considering retirement. He was also named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People this year.
“I work myself out of a job. My job was to get us to launch and through commissioning. So, that means it’s time for me to go away,” he said.
“Of course, I have a lot of knowledge and experiences in life and professional. So, I am still planning to do some things. But it’s time to go to the next phase of life.”
Link to original Atlanta Black Star