Becca Sepan is currently the real-time flight control lead and RF communications analyst for the New Horizons Mission Operations Team. She grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelors of science in aerospace engineering and earned her masters of engineering from the University of Maryland in the same field. Becca started her career in mission operations at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, first on the Terra and Aqua Earth Observation System spacecraft, then on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). When she moved to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Becca initially supported the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. On occasion, Becca is fortunate to be able to "moonlight" for the MESSENGER team which has been especially exciting during events like the first Mercury flyby this past January!

Becca is so enthusiastic about space exploration; one of her hobbies is serving as a volunteer for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Solar System Ambassadors program, spreading knowledge and excitement about our solar system by running programs for the public. Back on earth, Becca enjoys flying as a private pilot, swimming, traveling, adventuring outdoors, and doing anything that allows her to spend time with her husband, Dave, and her kitty, Eclipse. Becca's parents, who have always supported her dreams enthusiastically, live right down the road from AACC so Becca frequently finds herself in this area and is honored to be speaking here tonight.