NASA — Cosmic Dawn through Her Lens: Sophia Roberts

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    If you’ve seen video footage of the James Webb Space Telescope, there’s a good chance you’ve seen it through her lens.

    ALT

    Sophia Roberts is an astrophysics video producer at NASA Goddard in Maryland. She spent years chasing Webb around the country as one of its primary videographers, documenting its construction and crafting stories that explained why Webb was worth building.

    “There were countless potential points of failure. It was up to the communications team to acknowledge those risks honestly and help the public understand why the mission still mattered,” she said.

    A close-up GIF of Sophia, reflected by Webb’s golden mirrors. She is dressed in a head-to-toe white jumpsuit, a disposable face mask, and blue latex gloves. A video camera is positioned in front of her, mounted on a camera slider. Sophia moves the camera from left to right, and the shot's perspective changes accordingly. The entire scene is cast in a golden hue, thanks to the reflection from Webb’s mirrors. Credit: NASA/Sophia RobertsALT

    Sophia’s incredible efforts included capturing hours-long timelapses of major operations, filming inside clean rooms (special facilities where space mission components are assembled and tested), and editing these moments together, bringing the public on Webb’s journey with her. Sophia also tracked down the origins of many of the elements used to create Webb. She was even able to visit and film a beryllium mine, home to the rare metal from which Webb’s mirrors originated.

    “Seeing this raw, elemental starting point for something as refined as a space telescope was unforgettable,” Sophia said.

    A GIF of Sophia and a beryllium mine worker chatting as they walk towards the camera. They are dressed in neon yellow-green and orange construction vests and bright red construction helmets. They walk along a path that cuts through the center of a deep, light-gray quarry, with terraced edges. A large, inactive bulldozer is parked on the image’s left. Credit: NASAALT

    What kept her going was her own curiosity, wondering: Why are the mirrors exposed? Why are they gold? What makes beryllium special? Why is the radiator black?

    When Webb was transported via boat from the Port of Los Angeles to French Guiana (the telescope was too heavy to travel by bridge and too large for a plane), Sophia was there too! She rented a chase boat to follow Webb and film its journey.

    Sophia stands near the edge of a boat in the middle of the ocean. She is facing away from the camera, filming an adjacent boat large enough to transport cargo. The boat, which has the letters “MN” on its side, houses several white structures and towers. Credit: NASAALT

    “Chasing Webb down the California coast at full speed felt like an action movie; and it was the last time we’d ever see it on U.S. soil,” she said.

    Leading up to the telescope’s launch, the necessary work became more and more intense…and then launch! and it was done. It took a while to shake the “void” that the job had left behind.

    Sophia and her team won several Webbys for their work, recognizing them for their social media campaigns, live broadcasts covering the launch, deployment, and first images, as well as a short film called 29 Days on the Edge, diving into the arduous process of unfolding Webb in space over a month after launch.

    Sophia poses for a photo with team members Mike McClare, Michael Starobin, and Mike Menzel. All four face towards the camera, smiling. A small model of Webb is positioned behind them. Large digital screens stretch across the background, projecting the Webb telescope logo and images of space. Credit: NASAALT

    Sophia is one of the stars of our newest NASA+ documentary, Cosmic Dawn, which takes you behind the scenes of the world’s most powerful space telescope. See the story through her lens: https://www.nasa.gov/cosmicdawn/.

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