NASA's Most Technically Complex Space Observatory Requires Accuracy

The James Webb Space Telescope is one of NASA's most ambitious and technically complex missions. Building an infrared observatory of this magnitude, power and complexity has never been attempted before. In order to ensure flawless operation in the space, the advanced technology built into Webb must be rigorously tested before it is launched.

The design of the Webb telescope took years to develop and was specifically designed to see more cosmos than ever before. It took hundreds of scientists, engineers, optical experts and many others to share their knowledge in a way that had never been done before. Boosting the teamwork of three major space agencies: NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, Webb has more than 1,200 people worldwide to give life at the most recent and most powerful space telescope in the world

We first thought of Webb, it was not technically feasible, we had to invent things before we could build it – not very different from the Apollo program in this respect, "said Paul Geithner, deputy project manager at NASA's Goddard Space. Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland

Before the construction of the telescope could even begin, scientists and engineers set out to create ten new technological innovations that the world had never seen. Known as "Enabling Technologies", these advances have been incorporated into Webb and will enable it to become the most successful scientific observatory ever built.

At nearly 100 times the power of its scientific predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb should reveal a wealth of information about our origin, the formation of planets and stars, and will also be used to perform an analysis detailed planets both in our own solar system and elsewhere in the cosmos.

A revolutionary lightweight carbon-composite material, capable of maintaining its rigid 1 / 10,000th form of human hair, at temperatures close to absolute zero, forms Backb's foundations and supporting structures for scientific instruments from Webb. This new material offers outstanding load bearing capacity, while undergoing very little thermal expansion and contraction in the extreme temperatures of space.

Webb's mirror segments began as beryllium ore mined in Utah. They traveled all over the United States to be trained, light, polished, gilded, and finally, perfectly placed on the backplane structure with the help of a robotic arm.

"From a technical point of view, Webb is extraordinarily Science means that it must be big, in the space, and that half must be super cold, which means that we had to design it to be able to fold it in the space, then to deploy it without problem thanks to the remote control. also requires that we build exactly the cold optical part, in gravity and air at room temperature, so that it is exactly right – the right size and the right shape – when it is light in the vacuum of l & rsquo; Space operating at temperatures so cold that the air turns solid, "Geithner said.

A global team of technicians, engineers and scientists collaborated on the construction and the Test of this revolutionary telescope Beyond the space flight equipment, the Webb mission required the construction of assembly structures to assemble the telescope, the use of test facilities. to make sure that every component is ready for spaceflight, transport cases to send it to the country called pathfinders, and even a miniature telescope "test-bed".

For s & # 39; s 39 ensure that Webb and all its new technology f NASA will intentionally expose their spacecraft to extreme temperatures in a cryogenic Chamber A located in Houston, Texas. Ground tests aimed at simulating launch-induced vibrations or studying structural strength have proved essential to the development of a successful spacecraft

to evaluate all aspects of structural dynamics, including vibrations, vibroacoustics, modal features and sound. Webb has been bombarded by a long litany of testing, shaking, freezing and reanalysis.

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the world's first space science observatory. Webb will solve the mysteries of our solar system, look beyond distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international project led by NASA with partners, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

For More Information About Webb Sun Visor

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James Webb Space Telescope

Star chemistry, the universe and all that s & # 39; find it

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Agreement allowing access by astronomers Koreans at the Gemini Observatory

Hilo HI (SPX) July 25, 2018


An agreement between the Korea Institute of Astronomy and Space Science (KASI) and the agencies that own and operate The Gemini International Observatory was signed on Tuesday, establishing the Republic of Korea as a full participant. the Gemini Observatory.

"After being part of Gemini for four years as a limited time collaborator, the Korean astronomical community is thrilled to become a full partner of the twin Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile," said Narae Hwang, director of K -gmt. Sci … read more