{"id":13789,"date":"2020-06-23T09:43:25","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T13:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=13789"},"modified":"2020-06-23T10:04:57","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T14:04:57","slug":"he-touched-a-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2020\/06\/he-touched-a-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"He ‘Touched’ a Satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kenneth
PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA GODDARD\/TAYLOR MICKAL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The observation window at Goddard Space Flight Center\u00a0looks out onto the world\u2019s largest clean room, where a gleaming golden hexagon is hoisted on display \u2014 a mirror segment left over from Kenneth Harris\u2019 most recent project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe basically built a time machine,\u201d explains Harris MSEM \u201917. \u201cIt\u2019s a space telescope that will allow us to see some of the first galaxies formed, and it\u2019ll look back 13.5 billion years.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2021, its gold-coated mirror will capture infrared light from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Because wavelengths like visible light are stretched into infrared as they travel through the expanding universe, it\u2019s the only way to see the earliest galaxies to form after the Big Bang. One of the youngest engineers on the project, Harris led the team that integrated the Electronic Compartment of the Integrated Science Instrument Module, which houses the science instruments into the telescope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the \u2018heart\u2019 of James Webb that will allow us to collect all the data,\u201d Harris says. \u201cTo be able to say we put that together, it works, that\u2019s exciting. It\u2019s what I\u2019m proudest of, and I can always say that I touched that satellite.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 27, Harris has worked on multiple NASA satellite missions and has been named to Forbes<\/em>\u2019 30 Under 30 list. His love of engineering developed early. Both parents worked, so his father, a Goddard mechanical engineer, would take him to the office after school. Harris remembers seeing engineers at work, watching shuttle launches, and napping on a piece of shipping crate foam his father kept by his desk. He began at NASA at 16 years old, interning at Goddard during the summer and offering his services during the school year.<\/p>\n

He earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, then earned his master\u2019s degree through the Whiting School\u2019s Engineering for Professionals program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Kenneth
PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA GODDARD\/TAYLOR MICKAL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, he uses his NASA background to connect both children and college students to the space agency, visiting schools and working through NASA communications and social media to encourage STEM careers, and always making himself accessible for questions and advice. In November, he plans to run for the school board in Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing I tell my mentees is, it\u2019s bigger than you,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not for my career, because I don\u2019t have to be involved in STEM education to excel. I do this because I realize there\u2019s a need for it. It\u2019s bigger than you\u2014pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The observation window at Goddard Space Flight Center\u00a0looks out onto the world\u2019s largest clean room, where a gleaming golden hexagon is hoisted on display \u2014 a mirror segment left over from Kenneth Harris\u2019 most recent project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[5050,468,185],"class_list":["post-13789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","tag-james-webb-space-telescope","tag-stem","tag-nasa","issue-summer-2020"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHe 'Touched' a Satellite - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2020\/06\/he-touched-a-satellite\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He 'Touched' a Satellite - 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