View allAll Photos Tagged NASAWebb
This image is from July 2020.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was successfully folded and stowed into the same configuration it will have when loaded onto an Ariane 5 rocket for launch next year.
Webb is NASA’s largest and most complex space science telescope ever built. Too big for any rocket available in its fully expanded form, the entire observatory was designed to fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller configuration. Once in space, the observatory will unfold and stretch itself out in a carefully practiced series of steps before beginning to make groundbreaking observations of the cosmos.
“The James Webb Space Telescope achieved another significant milestone with the entire observatory in its launch configuration for the first time, in preparation for environmental testing,” said Bill Ochs, Webb project manager for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “I am very proud of the entire Northrop Grumman and NASA integration and test team. This accomplishment demonstrates the outstanding dedication and diligence of the team in such trying times due to COVID-19.”
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/first-look-nasa-s-james...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
The full-scale James Webb Space Telescope model at South by Southwest in Austin.
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Image description: In the background is a hazy night sky with clouds reflecting golden light. The skyline of Austin is spread against the sky. In the foreground is a full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope. It is the length of a tennis court and 28 feet tall. People are clustered beneath the model's giant sunshield, which has 5 layers. Atop the sunshield sits the model's primary mirror with the secondary mirror struts (a tripod of them) jutting out to the left. The model is illuminated by lights. The sunshield glows blue, and beneath it, where the spacecraft bus sits, is purple.
This group photo of engineers and technicians in the cleanroom at NASA Goddard, was captured in the spring of 2017, before the telescope was transported to NASA Johnson for cryogenic testing.
Image credit: NASA/Desiree Stover
Deputy Project Scientist (technical) Paul Geithner stands in front of the James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror in the cleanroom at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. This is a legacy photo, taken back when the mirrors were still at Goddard.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
This image shows the James Webb Space Telescope entering the cleanroom airlock at its launch site.
Read more about its journey to Kourou: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
In this photo, the James Webb Space Telescope is driven to Guiana Space Centre from the port. It was shipped from California, through the Panama Canal, to French Guiana, where it will launch. The launch vehicle and launch site are part of the European Space Agency's contribution to the mission.
Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
This image shows the James Webb Space Telescope being taken out of the special container in which it was transported to Kourou.
Read more about its journey to Kourou: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Artist conception of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez
Image Description:
With the completion of its latest series of milestone tests, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now survived all of the harsh conditions associated with a rocket launch to space.
Webb’s recent tests have validated that the fully assembled observatory will endure the deafening noise, and the jarring shakes, rattles and vibrations that the observatory will endure during liftoff. Known as “acoustic” and “sine-sibration” testing, NASA has worked carefully with its international partners to match Webb’s testing environment precisely to what Webb will experience both on launch day, and when operating in orbit.
Though each component of the telescope has been rigorously tested during development, demonstrating that the assembled flight hardware is able to safely pass through a simulated launch environment is a significant achievement for the mission. Completed in two separate facilities within Northrop Grumman’s Space Park in Redondo Beach, California, these tests represent Webb’s final two, in a long series of environmental tests before Webb is shipped to French Guiana for launch.
The next environment Webb will experience is space.
Read the full feature on this milestone: go.nasa.gov/3d5Kuhh
Now that environmental testing has been successfully concluded, Webb will move forward into the last full extension of its iconic primary mirror and sunshield, followed by a full systems evaluation before being encapsulated in a specialized shipping container for transport to South America.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
In a recent test, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope fully deployed its primary mirror into the same configuration it will have when in space.
In order to perform the groundbreaking science expected of Webb, its primary mirror needs to be so large that it cannot fit inside any rocket available in its fully extended form. Performed in early March, this test involved commanding the spacecraft’s internal systems to fully extend and latch Webb’s iconic 6.5 meter (21 feet 4-inch) primary mirror.
“Deploying both wings of the telescope while part of the fully assembled observatory is another significant milestone showing Webb will deploy properly in space. This is a great achievement and an inspiring image for the entire team,” said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for Webb at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
For more about this test: go.nasa.gov/33XdiEa
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Engineers and technicians working on the James Webb Space Telescope successfully completed the first important optical measurement of Webb’s fully assembled primary mirror, called a Center of Curvature test.
Taking a “before” optical measurement of the telescope’s deployed mirror is crucial before the telescope goes into several stages of rigorous mechanical testing. These tests will simulate the violent sound and vibration environments the telescope will experience inside its rocket on its way out into space. This environment is one of the most stressful structurally and could alter the shape and alignment of Webb’s primary mirror, which could degrade or, in the worst case, ruin its performance.
Webb has been designed and constructed to withstand its launch environment, but it must be tested to verify that it will indeed survive and not change in any unexpected way. Making the same optical measurements both before and after simulated launch environment testing and comparing the results is fundamental to Webb’s development, assuring that it will work in space.
Read the full story: go.nasa.gov/2fyqLwE
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
What’s the best way to make a really powerful telescope? Build a big mirror! The James Webb Space Telescope has the largest mirror of its kind that NASA has ever built. So big that it can’t fit inside a rocket without folding up. In early March, testing teams deployed Webb’s 21 feet 4-inch (6.5 meter) primary mirror into the same configuration it will have when in space.
Like the art of origami, Webb is a collection of movable parts that have been specifically designed to fold to a compact formation that is considerably smaller than when the observatory is fully deployed or extended. This allows it to just barely squeeze within a 16-foot (5-meter) payload fairing or cargo bay of a rocket, with little room to spare. Once in space, it will blossom and unfold into the world’s premier space science observatory.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/nasa-s-james-webb-space...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
The primary mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is made up of 18 hexagonal segments that when combined are 6.5 meters (21 feet 4 inches) across. In this photo only 15 of the 18 segments are showing. The three segments on each side of the primary mirror actually fold back, so that the telescope will fit into its launch vehicle. In this photo, one wing is extended, and the other is folded back.
The picture was taken in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
For more information about the Webb telescope visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb
Image credit: NASA/Desiree Stover
These blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope were created as a prop for a video series, but since it was requested, we are offering them as a download! (Look close and you'll notice some of the smaller text is Latin!)
Credit: NASA
The most powerful and complex space telescope ever created by humankind has achieved its final form as a fully assembled observatory. Reaching a major milestone, technicians and engineers have successfully connected the two halves of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope for the first time at Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Redondo Beach, California.
To combine both halves of Webb, engineers carefully lifted the Webb telescope (which includes the mirrors and science instruments) above the already-combined sunshield and spacecraft using a crane. Team members slowly guided the telescope into place, ensuring that all primary points of contact were perfectly aligned and seated properly. The observatory has been mechanically connected; next steps will be to electrically connect the halves, and then test the electrical connections.
Read more about this major milestone: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-james-webb-space...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Did you carve a NASA Webb pumpkin? Send us pictures! Email us at GSFC-NASAwebb@mail.nasa.gov!
For next year, you can download 4 different carving patterns here: jwst.nasa.gov/content/features/spacePumpkin.html (There are even more NASA designs here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13416)
Image credit: Mike Miller
Stepping inside NASA's Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland feels like stepping inside a Lady Gaga music video. Inside this white room where conical structures jut out from the walls, a team of engineers clad in "bunny suits" or white clean suits successfully completed one of the key environmental tests for the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), the science payload of the James Webb Space Telescope, in 2015.
The ISIM can be considered the eyes and ears of Webb telescope, and the purpose of the test was to verify that these eyes and ears will be compatible with the electromagnetic environment on the spacecraft.
Once inside the clean room, the team set up antennae for different tests. Their first task was to measure the electromagnetic emissions from the ISIM in order to assess the likelihood of interference to the rest of the spacecraft. They also illuminated the ISIM with electromagnetic waves in order to assess the likelihood of interference from the rest of the spacecraft.
These tests must be performed in an anechoic (Latin for “no echo”) chamber. The conical structures jutting out from the walls absorb the electromagnetic energy in order to minimize reflections. As much as a sound booth works to minimize the reflection of sound waves, the anechoic material minimizes reflections of electromagnetic waves so that they don't bounce back and combine with the original waves, which would disturb the integrity of the test.
More: go.nasa.gov/34wo5aF
Text Credit: Laura Betz
Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
To test the James Webb Space Telescope’s readiness for its journey in space, technicians successfully commanded it to deploy and extend a critical part of the observatory known as the Deployable Tower Assembly.
The primary purpose of the deployable tower is to create a large gap between the upper part of the observatory that houses its iconic gold mirrors and scientific instruments, and the lower section known as the spacecraft bus which holds its comparatively warm electronics and propulsion systems. By creating a space between the two, it allows for Webb’s active and passive cooling systems to bring its mirrors and sensors down to staggeringly cold temperatures required to perform optimal science.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/tower-extension-test-a-...
Image: Shown fully stowed, the James Webb Space Telescope’s Deployable Tower Assembly that connects the upper and lower sections of the spacecraft will extend 48 inches (1.2 meters) after launch.
Credits: Northrop Grumman
All of the James Webb Space Telescope's flight hardware is located at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, CA, where engineers and technicians continue critical environmental testing to prepare it for the rigors of launch into space.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Photographer Chris Gunn works with Video Producer Mike McClare and a team of professionals, in order to specially light the James Webb Space Telescope for a shoot.
To read more about how our team captures the beauty and technical aspects of the JWST mission, visit NASA Blueshift: asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2016/08/29/bringing-history-into-focus-inside-a-moment-with-a-nasa-photographer-and-video-producer/
Credit: NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya
After a 5,800-mile move, the James Webb Space Telescope has unpacked and settled into its temporary home...
The James Webb Space Telescope has safely made it inside the cleanroom at its launch site at Guiana Space Center, in French Guiana! Read more about why this location was selected for launch: jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/launch.html
After its arrival, Webb was carefully lifted from its packing container and then raised vertical. This is the same configuration Webb will be in when it is inside its launch vehicle, the Ariane 5 rocket.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
This image shows the James Webb Space Telescope being taken out of the special container in which it was transported to Kourou.
Read more about its journey to Kourou: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, emerged from Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 1, 2017.
The telescope’s combined science instruments and optical element exited the massive thermal vacuum testing chamber after about 100 days of cryogenic testing inside it. Scientists and engineers at Johnson put Webb through a series of tests designed to ensure the telescope functioned as expected in an extremely cold, airless environment akin to that of space.
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Spring has arrived, the flowers are blooming and so have the mirrors of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. These three pictures help visually show how Webb’s iconic 21 foot 4-inch (6.5 meter) primary mirror has been built to fold to a much smaller size for takeoff.
Read more about Webb's recently successful mirror deployment test: go.nasa.gov/2Rq09P0
Image Credit: Northrop Grumman, NASA/Chris Gunn
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sits inside Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston after having completed its final cryogenic testing on Nov. 18, 2017.
Webb’s combined science instruments and optics underwent about 100 days of testing inside the chamber. The end of the testing is a significant milestone in the telescope’s journey to the launch pad.
“The individuals and organizations that have led us to this most significant milestone represent the very best of the best. Their knowledge, dedication, and execution to successfully complete the testing as planned, even while enduring Hurricane Harvey, cannot be overstated,” said Mark Voyton, James Webb Space Telescope optical telescope element and integrated science instrument manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Every team member delivered critical knowledge and insight into the strategic and tactical planning and execution required to complete all of the test objectives, and I am honored to have experienced this phase of our testing with every one of them.”
Read more: go.nasa.gov/2AfuJnt
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
One kilowatt is about what it takes to heat up some leftovers in a microwave — or to power the largest and most technically advanced telescope ever built. Thanks to its solar array, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will stay energy-efficient more than 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.
Webb’s 20-foot (6-meter) solar array was recently attached to the main observatory for the final time before launch. The “powerhouse” of the telescope, the array will supply energy to all of the telescope’s scientific instruments and communication and propulsion systems. While Webb will only use 1 kilowatt of power, the solar array is capable of generating nearly double that amount to factor in the gradual wear and tear of a harsh space environment.
The solar array is made up of five panels that are hinged together to easily fold up and stow in Webb’s launch vehicle, the Ariane 5 rocket. When Webb launches in 2021, this deployment will be the first and one of the most critical steps in the observatory’s full deployment process. The telescope’s onboard battery is intended to last only a few hours, up until the solar array unfolds in space and begins converting sunlight into electricity.
In spring 2019, the array was removed from the spacecraft for deployment testing. To minimize friction and mimic the zero-gravity conditions of deep space, the team conducted tests by hanging the array on its side.
Text Credit: Isabelle Yan
Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Did you carve a NASA Webb pumpkin? Send us pictures! Email us at GSFC-NASAwebb@mail.nasa.gov!
This pumpkin was Kelly's original design based on the new Webb insignia and the Webb science themes of the early universe, galaxies over time, star lifecycle, and other worlds.
For next year, you can download 4 different carving patterns here: jwst.nasa.gov/content/features/spacePumpkin.html (There are even more NASA designs here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13416)
Image credit: Kelly Lepo
This image shows the arrival of the James Webb Space Telescope to Port de Pariacabo in French Guiana. It traveled from California, through the Panama Canal, aboard the MN Colibri, arriving October 12, 2021.
Read more:
Press release:
www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-space-telescope-ar...
Feature:
www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: 2021 ESA-CNES-Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG - JM Guillon
Engineers working on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have successfully folded and packed its sunshield for its upcoming million-mile (roughly 1.5 million kilometer) journey, which begins later this year.
The sunshield — a five-layer, diamond-shaped structure the size of a tennis court — was specially engineered to fold up around the two sides of the telescope and fit within the confines of its launch vehicle, the Ariane 5 rocket. Now that folding has been completed at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, the sunshield will remain in this compact form through launch and the first few days the observatory will spend in space.
Designed to protect the telescope’s optics from any heat sources that could interfere with its sight, the sunshield is one of Webb’s most critical and complex components. Because Webb is an infrared telescope, its mirrors and sensors need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures to detect faint heat signals from distant objects in the universe.
Read the whole feature: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-s-webb-telescope-p...
This image: Both sides of the James Webb Space Telescope's sunshield were lifted vertically in preparation for the folding of the sunshield layers.
Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope successfully arrived in French Guiana Tuesday, October 12, 2021, after a 16-day journey at sea. The 1,500-mile voyage took Webb from California through the Panama Canal to Port de Pariacabo on the Kourou River in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.
The world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will now be driven to its launch site, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, where it will begin two months of operational preparations before its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket, scheduled for Dec. 18.
Read more:
Press release: www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-space-telescope-ar...
Feature: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Now that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been assembled into its final form, testing teams seized the unique opportunity to perform a critical software and electrical analysis on the entire observatory as a single, fully connected vehicle.
Known as a Comprehensive Systems Test or CST, this was the first full systems evaluation that has ever been run on the assembled observatory, and one of the final first-time activities the team will perform. Similar performance evaluations have been completed in Webb’s history, using simulations and surrogates to infer data about pieces of the spacecraft that had not yet been assembled. Now that Webb is fully built, simulations and simulators are no longer needed, and engineers can confidently assess both its software and electronic performance.
More on this critical testing milestone here: go.nasa.gov/32f9KhQ
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
In order to do groundbreaking science, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope must first perform an extremely choreographed series of deployments, extensions, and movements that bring the observatory to life shortly after launch. Too big to fit in any rocket available in its fully deployed form, Webb was engineered to intricately fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller size during transport.
Technicians and engineers recently tested a key part of this choreography by successfully commanding Webb to deploy the support structure that holds its secondary mirror in place. This is a critical milestone in preparing the observatory for its journey to orbit. The next time this will occur will be when Webb is in space, and on its way to gaze into the cosmos from a million miles away.
This image: Following a successful deployment test of NASA Webb’s mission-critical secondary mirror, technicians and engineers visually inspect the support structure that holds it in place.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/critical-deployment-of-...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
These blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope were created as a prop for a video series, but since it was requested, we are offering them as a download! (Look close and you'll notice some of the smaller text is Latin!)
Credit: NASA
For NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and its incredibly sensitive scientific instruments, cleanliness is critical. Contamination Control Engineers like Yingrui “Zao” Huang, who has been on the mission since 2013, play an important role in ensuring Webb’s hardware is in pristine condition during the testing and integration that lead up to launch.
Zao is pictured in the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility (SSDIF) at NASA Goddard, standing in front of the wall of filters that help keep the cleanroom clean.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
What looks like a teleporter from science fiction being draped over NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, is actually a "clean tent." The clean tent protects Webb from dust and dirt when engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland transport the next generation space telescope out of the relatively dust-free cleanroom and into the shirtsleeve environment of the vibration and acoustics testing areas. In two years, a rocket will be the transporter that carries the Webb into space so it can orbit one million miles from Earth and peer back over 13.5 billion years to see the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early universe.
For more information about the Webb telescope, visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb.
Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sits in front of the door to Chamber A, a giant thermal vacuum chamber located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The telescope will soon be moved into the chamber, where it will spend a hot Houston summer undergoing tests at sub-freezing cryogenic temperatures. The telescope will operate at an extremely cold 39 K (-234° C or -389° F) in space, so NASA is simulating those conditions on the ground, ensuring the optics and instruments will perform perfectly after launch.
In space, the telescope itself must be kept extremely cold, in order to be able to detect the infrared light from faint and very distant objects. To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the sun, Earth, and moon) as well as from heat emitted by the observatory itself, a five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield acts like a parasol providing shade. The sunshield separates the observatory into a warm, sun-facing side (reaching temperatures close to 400 degrees Farenheit), and a cold side (185 degrees below zero) where the sunlight is blocked from interfering with the sensitive telescope instruments.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
For more information about the Webb telescope visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb
Image Credit: NASA/Desiree Stover
Artist conception of the James Webb Space Telescope, dating to 2019.
Credit: Adriana Manrique Gutierrez, NASA Animator
Image description: An illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope deployed in space. The telescope has a large mirror made of hexagons that are being illuminated by the galaxy being observed. Otherwise the top side of the telescope is in the dark. The underside is being lit by the sun. The telescope is set against a starry background.
In order to do groundbreaking science, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope must first perform an extremely choreographed series of deployments, extensions, and movements that bring the observatory to life shortly after launch. Too big to fit in any rocket available in its fully deployed form, Webb was engineered to intricately fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller size during transport.
Technicians and engineers recently tested a key part of this choreography by successfully commanding Webb to deploy the support structure that holds its secondary mirror in place. This is a critical milestone in preparing the observatory for its journey to orbit. The next time this will occur will be when Webb is in space, and on its way to gaze into the cosmos from a million miles away.
This image: Following a successful deployment test of NASA Webb’s mission-critical secondary mirror, technicians and engineers visually inspect the support structure that holds it in place.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/critical-deployment-of-...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Testing is the best way to ensure mission success. Comprehensive systems evaluations like the one recently performed help to verify that the all of Webb's many pieces, components and electronics are all working in unison as a complete observatory.
More on the test here: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/nasa-s-james-webb-space...
Image Credit: Northrop Grumman
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope successfully arrived in French Guiana Tuesday, October 12, 2021, after a 16-day journey at sea. The 1,500-mile voyage took Webb from California through the Panama Canal to Port de Pariacabo on the Kourou River in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.
The world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will now be driven to its launch site, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, where it will begin two months of operational preparations before its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket, scheduled for Dec. 18.
Read more:
Press release: www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-space-telescope-ar...
Feature: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
This image shows the arrival of the James Webb Space Telescope to Port de Pariacabo in French Guiana. It traveled from California, through the Panama Canal, aboard the MN Colibri, arriving October 12, 2021.
Read more:
Press release:
www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-space-telescope-ar...
Feature:
www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/how-to-ship-the-world-s...
Image credit: 2021 ESA-CNES-Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG - JM Guillon
This photo from Northrop Grumman's clean room in Redondo Beach, California shows the start of the integration process of the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is seen hanging from a crane, in the process of being moved over the sunshield.
Here's a recent video about the recent successful assembly of Webb into its final form: youtu.be/Trh9ohPo-cE
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
Compare the size of NASA Webb with the technician in the lift in front of it. This photo offers the perfect sense of scale, showcasing just how big Webb is. We'll be sharing more images like this in the comments section in this post. The images in this set of photos were captured earlier this fall during the successful integration of the spacecraft and telescope halves of the observatory.
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
Read more about our latest milestone: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-james-webb-space...
With the completion of its latest series of milestone tests, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now survived all of the harsh conditions associated with a rocket launch to space.
Webb’s recent tests have validated that the fully assembled observatory will endure the deafening noise, and the jarring shakes, rattles and vibrations that the observatory will endure during liftoff. Known as “acoustic” and “sine-sibration” testing, NASA has worked carefully with its international partners to match Webb’s testing environment precisely to what Webb will experience both on launch day, and when operating in orbit.
Though each component of the telescope has been rigorously tested during development, demonstrating that the assembled flight hardware is able to safely pass through a simulated launch environment is a significant achievement for the mission. Completed in two separate facilities within Northrop Grumman’s Space Park in Redondo Beach, California, these tests represent Webb’s final two, in a long series of environmental tests before Webb is shipped to French Guiana for launch.
The next environment Webb will experience is space.
Read the full feature on this milestone: go.nasa.gov/3d5Kuhh
Now that environmental testing has been successfully concluded, Webb will move forward into the last full extension of its iconic primary mirror and sunshield, followed by a full systems evaluation before being encapsulated in a specialized shipping container for transport to South America.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
A rare view from underneath NASA Webb's iconic primary mirror, as it moves into position over its spacecraft during integration at Northrop Grumman.
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
Link to our assembly milestone feature story here:
www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-james-webb-space...
An archival image from October 2016.
In November 2016, engineers and technicians working on the James Webb Space Telescope successfully completed the first important optical measurement of Webb’s fully assembled primary mirror, called a Center of Curvature test.
Taking a “before” optical measurement of the telescope’s deployed mirror is crucial before the telescope goes into several stages of rigorous mechanical testing. These tests will simulate the violent sound and vibration environments the telescope will experience inside its rocket on its way out into space. This environment is one of the most stressful structurally and could alter the shape and alignment of Webb’s primary mirror, which could degrade or, in the worst case, ruin its performance.
Webb has been designed and constructed to withstand its launch environment, but it must be tested to verify that it will indeed survive and not change in any unexpected way. Making the same optical measurements both before and after simulated launch environment testing and comparing the results is fundamental to Webb’s development, assuring that it will work in space.
Read the full story: go.nasa.gov/2fyqLwE
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
In order to do groundbreaking science, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope must first perform an extremely choreographed series of deployments, extensions, and movements that bring the observatory to life shortly after launch. Too big to fit in any rocket available in its fully deployed form, Webb was engineered to intricately fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller size during transport.
Technicians and engineers recently tested a key part of this choreography by successfully commanding Webb to deploy the support structure that holds its secondary mirror in place. This is a critical milestone in preparing the observatory for its journey to orbit. The next time this will occur will be when Webb is in space, and on its way to gaze into the cosmos from a million miles away.
This image: Following a successful deployment test of NASA Webb’s mission-critical secondary mirror, technicians and engineers visually inspect the support structure that holds it in place.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/critical-deployment-of-...
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
In order to do groundbreaking science, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope must first perform an extremely choreographed series of deployments, extensions, and movements that bring the observatory to life shortly after launch. Too big to fit in any rocket available in its fully deployed form, Webb was engineered to intricately fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller size during transport.
Technicians and engineers recently tested a key part of this choreography by successfully commanding Webb to deploy the support structure that holds its secondary mirror in place. This is a critical milestone in preparing the observatory for its journey to orbit. The next time this will occur will be when Webb is in space, and on its way to gaze into the cosmos from a million miles away.
This image: Following a successful deployment test of NASA Webb’s mission-critical secondary mirror, technicians and engineers visually inspect the support structure that holds it in place.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/critical-deployment-of-...
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
This group photo of engineers and technicians in the cleanroom at NASA Goddard, was captured in the spring of 2017, before the telescope was transported to NASA Johnson for cryogenic testing.
Image credit: NASA/Desiree Stover
The importance of testing cannot be overstated in software development. Individual units of code must be tested as they are written, then retested as they are combined into larger and larger software components. Tests need to be rerun every time a bug is fixed, or a feature added, to verify the changed code doesn’t propagate unexpected and unwanted behaviors in the system.
More on Webb's recent comprehensive systems test here:
Credit: Northrop Grumman