Distilling down the complex logistics of designing and building a multi-billion dollar satellite into an informative and entertaining film, Nathaniel Kahn’s “The Hunt for Planet B” is a entertaining and insightful look at the creation of the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch later this year, and the scientists and engineers who contributed to it. Foregrounding the contributions of many women to the process, including MIT Professor Sara Seagar, Webb Engineer Amy Lo, Astronomer Maggie Turbull and Jill Tarter, who served as the inspiration for Ellie Arroway from the novel and film “Contact,” Kahn’s film oscillates between providing an overview of exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system that possibly sustain life, and the massive process of putting the Webb telescope together.

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