Article by Bonnie Milne and Guest Night Committee Chairman, Bill Osten
Featured speaker: Dr Jim Reilly, NASA
Commander Rick Sturchow and Mission specialist Jim Reilly on the space shuttle in July 2008.
Reilly will be the Guest Night speaker
This year’s HGS Guest Night program features a presentation by geoscientist and NASA Astronaut Dr. James Reilly, PhD as the evening’s keynote speaker in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s IMAX theatre. Dr. Reilly, a veteran of five spacewalks will share his experiences and insights with the Guest Night audience.
The 2008 Guest Night program will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. As has been the tradition in past years, the HGS will reserve the first and second floors of the museum for guests and HGS members to enjoy the intriguing collections of minerals, fossils and energy-related exhibits.
Reilly will offer his insights and experiences of both walking and working in space during his presentation slated for 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the IMAX theatre.
Jim Reilly flew on STS (Space Transportation System) -89 in 1998, STS-104 in 2001 and STS-117 in 2007. He has logged over 853 hours in space, including 5 spacewalks totaling 31 hours and 10 minutes. He is currently assigned to the Exploration Branch as the lead for Crew Exploration Vehicle crew systems and landing operations.
STS-89 was the 8th Shuttle-Mir docking mission during which the crew transferred more than 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from Space Shuttle Endeavour to Mir.
STS-104 was the 9th assembly flight of the Shuttle to the International Space Station.
STS-117 Atlantis was the 118th Shuttle mission and the 21st mission to visit the International Space Station. Dr. Reilly accumulated 31 hours and 10 minutes of EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) in 5 spacewalks. The mission also delivered and returned with an expedition crew member returning Edwards Airforce Base after having traveled 5.8 million miles in 14 days.
Capping the events of the HGS Guest Night attendees will be awarded door prizes and geologically-themed souvenirs. An IMAX film will be shown for all interested proceeding Dr. Reilly’s talk.
The 2008 HGS Guest Night program is limited to 400 people due to seating capacity limitations of the IMAX theatre. Prepayment is required, and tickets will NOT be available for walk-ins. Be sure to register early and pay online using the HGS Website, or fill out and mail the registration form to pay by check.
Event Schedule:
6:30 - 8:00 Arrivals and registration, catered buffet dinner, cash bars in the museum halls
8:00 - 8:15 Awards to Houston area high school student science fair winners
8:15 - 9:00 Presentation by Dr. James Reilly, PhD
9:15 - 10:00 IMAX Movie ("Grand Canyon: River at Risk)
The Guest Night committee continues to improve its program every year, making it one of the HGS top sell-out programs each June. The Houston Geological Society and the members of the Guest Night Committee are most appreciative of their financial support of this very popular annual event.
Click here to register for the event now!
Featured Speaker: Jim Reilly
Dr. James Reilly was born March 18, 1954, at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, but considers Mesquite, Texas, as his hometown.
Dr. Reilly received his BS (1977) and MS degrees (1987) and PhD (1995) in geoscience from the University of Texas at Dallas. During his graduate school years, Dr. Reilly participated as a research scientist specializing in stable isotope geochronology as part of the 1977-1978 scientific expedition to Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica., and received the Antarctic Service Medal in 1978.
Dr. Reilly is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Naval Reserve Association, Tailhook Association, Reserve Officers Association and Association of Space Explorers.
In 1979, he accepted employment in Dallas as an exploration geologist with Santa Fe Minerals Inc. From 1980 to the time he was selected for the astronaut program, he was employed as an oil and gas exploration geologist for Enserch Exploration Inc., in Dallas, Texas, rising to the position of Chief Geologist of the Offshore Region. Concurrent with his duties as an exploration geologist, he was actively involved in the application of new imaging technology for industrial applications in deep water engineering projects and biological research. As part of this work, Reilly spent approximately 22 days in deep submergence vehicles operated by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Navy.
Dr. Reilly was selected by NASA in December 1994 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, where he completed a year of training and evaluation to qualify for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially assigned to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, he also served as the Astronaut Office lead on Shuttle training, and as Payloads and Procedures Operations lead for the Astronaut Office ISS Branch.
Effective June 1, 2008 Dr. Reilly will move to Colorado Springs to become Chief Technology Officer for PhotoStencil in Colorado Springs.
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