NASA's JWST Science Instruments Begin Final Super Cold Test At Goddard | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.04.24

Airborne-NextGen-11.05.24

Airborne-Unlimited-11.06.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-11.07.24

Airborne-Unlimited-11.08.24

Sun, Nov 01, 2015

NASA's JWST Science Instruments Begin Final Super Cold Test At Goddard

Exposed To Temperatures As Low As 40 Degrees Kelvin

An engineering team lifted and lowered the heart of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope into the giant thermal vacuum chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This move marks the start of the third and final cryogenic test at Goddard to prepare the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), or the “heart” of the telescope, for space.

This super cold test is vitally important for this large space telescope. Unlike a telescope you'd use in your backyard, scientists rely on remotely controlled mirrors and complex science measuring tools (instruments) to take in light from the distant universe. To do this, they must be rigorously tested on the ground to ensure they will work in space.

Webb telescope's images will reveal the first galaxies forming approximately 13.5 billion years ago. The telescope will also see through interstellar dust clouds to capture stars and planets forming in our own galaxy. At the telescope's final destination in space, one million miles away from Earth, it will operate at incredibly cold temperatures of -387 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Kelvin. This is 260 degrees Fahrenheit colder than any place on the Earth’s surface has ever been.

To create temperatures that cold on Earth, the team uses the massive thermal vacuum chamber at Goddard called the Space Environment Simulator, or SES, that duplicates the vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. This 40-foot-tall, 27-foot-diameter cylindrical chamber eliminates almost all of the air with vacuum pumps and uses liquid nitrogen and even colder liquid helium to drop the temperature, thereby simulating the space environment.

"ISIM's final test is an exciting time for us," said Bill Ochs, Webb's Project Manager. "After this test ends, we will be able to start integrating ISIM with the rest of the telescope."

Navigating tight spaces inside the chamber while dressed in a white clean room suit to prevent contamination, Jack Marshall and other engineers readied ISIM for its super cold test. 

"After we moved ISIM into the chamber, we close the lid. Then we pump air into the chamber, so we can continue to set up inside the chamber," said Marshall. "Once everything is set, we pump out the air inside the chamber to create a vacuum. We then use liquid nitrogen and liquid helium to cool surfaces on the chamber walls and test structure, simulating the temperatures the telescope will see in space."

The several-month-long test is used to ensure all of the science instruments are ready for flight.

"Everything went smoothly and as planned," Neil Becker, mechanical engineer. "We are at the beginning of the final cryogenic test, most of the mechanical work is done."

The ISIM completed a successful acoustic test and an electromagnetic interference test a couple of months ago. A team will monitor this new grueling test for months, around the clock, to see how the instruments handle the extreme temperatures.

(Top image provided with NASA news release. Bottom image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.05.24): Circle-To-Land Maneuver

Circle-To-Land Maneuver A maneuver initiated by the pilot to align the aircraft with a runway for landing when a straight-in landing from an instrument approach is not possible or >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.05.24)

"We are thrilled to see such remarkable interest in the Skyryse One First Edition. Our goal is to open up access to aviation by making it safer and simpler to pilot any aircraft. T>[...]

Airborne 11.01.24: XB-1 Flies Again, Evektor Fleet Sale, Zepp Record Remembered

Also: Senator Pushes FAA, Gulfstream Goes Starlink, Crew-8 Astro Out of Hospital, PC-12 Flight Hours Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft successfully carried out Fli>[...]

Airborne 11.04.24: World Drone Races, Manta Aircraft, Stratus Power Max

Also: Large Formation Skydiving, USCG Medevac, ARTCC Meteorologists, SpaceX 2024 100th The 2024 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Drone Racing>[...]

Airborne-NextGen 11.05.24: China v Skydio, SpaceX 100th, World Drone Champs

Also: ERAU Hurricane Drone Program, lightWave Edge 130 Blue, Manta Aircraft, ARTCC Meteorologists Prominent American drone manufacturer Skydio was recently hit with sanctions from >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC