Mon, Dec 26, 2011
Reflective Surfaces Spent Ten Weeks At 379 Degrees Below
Zero
The last six primary mirror segments and the secondary mirror
that will fly on the James Webb Space Telescope have passed their
final cold test. This milestone concludes testing on the
telescope's individual mirror segments and represents the
successful culmination of a years-long process that broke new
ground in manufacturing and testing large space-qualified
mirrors.
"The mirror completion signifies that we can build a large,
deployable telescope for space - 18 mirrors that operate as one,"
said Scott Willoughby, vice president and Webb program manager,
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, which designed the Webb
telescope for NASA. "We have proven that real hardware will perform
to the requirements of the mission."
Completed at the X-ray & Cryogenic Facility at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, a ten-week test
series chilled the primary mirror segments to -379 degrees
Fahrenheit. During two test cycles, telescope engineers took
extremely detailed measurements of how the mirror's shape changes
as it cools. Cryotesting verifies that the mirror will respond as
expected to the extreme temperatures of space.
Teammate Ball Aerospace performed a comparable test on the
secondary mirror, which presented a unique testing challenge
because it is the only mirror that is convex, with a surface that
curves or bulges outward. It involved a special test and more
complex optical measurements.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's next-generation space
observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The most
powerful space telescope ever built, Webb will observe the most
distant objects in the universe, provide images of the very first
galaxies ever formed and study planets around distant stars. The
Webb Telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space
Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]