Optimisation of JWST operations with the help of Gaia

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled for launch in 2018. To operate and observe efficiently, JWST will rely on various external astrometric and photometric catalogues, in particular the HST Guide Star Catalog (GSC), for instance to locate sources accurately on the sky. The incorporation of the Gaia astrometric catalog will improve the absolute astrometry of the GSC and is therefore relevant for JWST operations. We outline how the JWST Science and Operations Center hosted at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) intends to use the Gaia survey results to improve upon operational aspects such as the guiding and the geometric focal plane characterisation of JWST.