Webb Telescope Primary Mirror Segment Completes Cryogenic Test
The chamber is opened to move the first cryogenically tested gold-coated engineering development unit out of Marshall's X-ray and Cryogenic Facility. Each of the 18 mirror Webb telescope primary mirror segments will be tested, re-polished, coated with gold, measured at Ball Aerospace, and finally tested again in the Marshall test facility at cryogenic temperatures before the mirror test program is complete. Read more
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Systems Engineering Evolves to Meet Demands of Integration and Test Phase
As the James Webb Space Telescope enters its next critical phase of development, NASA and Northrop Grumman Corporation have forged an integrated, consolidated and "badgeless" Mission Systems Engineering team. Read more
James Webb Space Telescope Completes Cryogenic Mirror Test
Recently, six James Webb Space Telescope beryllium mirror segments completed a series of cryogenic tests at the X-ray & Cryogenic Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Ala. During testing, the mirrors were subjected to extreme temperatures dipping to -415 degrees Fahrenheit, permitting NASA contractor engineers to measure in extreme detail how the shape of the mirror changes as it cools. Read more
Meet the James Webb Space Telescope. Engineers have started constructing this new space telescope, and astrophysicists hope that it will change the way we understand the universe. NASA showcased a full sized model of the telescope at the World Science Festival in Manhattan in June, so the team at NOVA scienceNOW went to see what it could do. Take a look.
ESA To Set Tiny Hair-Like Webb Telescope Microshutters
Tiny little shutters as small as the width of a human hair are a key component in the James Webb Space Telescope's ability to see huge distances in the cosmos, and they have now arrived at the European Space Agency. Those little "shutters" are actually called "microshutters" and they are tiny doorways that focus the attention of the infrared camera on specific targets to the exclusion of others. They will focus in on objects like very distant stars and galaxies. Read more
'L2' Will be the James Webb Space Telescope's Home in Space
When you ask an astronomer about the James Webb Space Telescope's orbit, they'll tell you something that sounds like it came from a science-fiction novel. The Webb won't be orbiting the Earth - instead we will send it almost a million miles out into space to a place called "L2." L2 is short-hand for the second Lagrange Point, a wonderful accident of gravity and orbital mechanics, and the perfect place to park the Webb telescope in space. There are five so-called "Lagrange Points" - areas where gravity from the sun and Earth balance the orbital motion of a satellite. Putting a spacecraft at any of these points allows it to stay in a fixed position relative to the Earth and sun with a minimal amount of energy needed for course correction. Read more
Here was a model for the next great time machine, just over John Grunsfeld's shoulder in a field in Battery Park: a giant telescope that will be launched in 2014 and sent one million miles from Earth. By looking deep into space, it will collect light and images that have been travelling since nearly the beginning of the universe, and send them back here. Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope reached a mission-readiness landmark today when its first primary mirror segment was cryo-polished to its required prescription as measured at operational cryogenic temperatures. This achievement sets the stage for a successful polishing process for the remaining 18 flight mirror segments. Northrop Grumman Corporation is leading Webb's design and development effort for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre. Read more
Northrop Grumman-Built James Webb Space Telescope Sunshield Design Achieves Significant Landmark, Marks Major Mission Progress
The five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield for the Northrop Grumman Corporation -built James Webb Space Telescope has passed its critical design review, certifying that its design is complete and meets mission requirements. By achieving thermal, deployment and stray-light targets, the sunshield is now ready for manufacturing. Read more
Webb telescope segments undergo Marshall cold test
Over the next few days, six segments will be moved into the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility, or XRCF, where they will be eventually experience temperatures dipping to a chilling negative 414 degrees Fahrenheit. This ensures they can withstand the extreme space environments. The telescope has 18 segments total. Read more
Following completion of the six-mirror test in March 2010, nine of the 18 James Webb primary mirror segments will have successfully completed the first of two cryogenic temperature tests required for each mirror at Marshall's X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF). The first XRCF test measures distortion of each mirror surface as it cools from room temperature to the Webb telescope's on-orbit operating temperature of approximately 45 K (-380 deg F). This surface distortion is mapped and subsequently removed in the final mirror polishing operations. The second XRCF test performed on each mirror will verify that the warm-to-cold surface distortion has been properly removed in final polishing. Read more