First James Webb Telescope Mirror Arrives

SPACE SCOPES

While the mirrors change temperature, engineers will precisely measure the structural stability of the hardware to ensure it will perform as designed once operating in extreme temperatures of space.

by Staff Writers
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 09, 2008
The first of 18 mirror segments that will fly on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will arrive this week at Marshall Space Flight Center to prepare them to meet the extreme temperatures of space. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will be the premier observatory of the next decade.

It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.

The mirrors will undergo testing at Marshall's X-ray and Cryogenic Facility. This facility is the world's largest X-ray telescope test facility and a unique, cryogenic, clean room optical test location.

Cryogenic testing will take place in a 7,600 cubic foot helium cooled vacuum chamber, chilling the flight mirror from room temperature down to a frigid -414 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the mirrors change temperature, engineers will precisely measure the structural stability of the hardware to ensure it will perform as designed once operating in extreme temperatures of space.

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