SYS.MSGARCHIVE_ACCESS_GRANTED
NASA News
The latest updates from deep space missions, planetary defense, and scientific breakthroughs across the cosmos.
James WebbNASA Restarts Rigorous Vibration Testing on the James Webb Space Telescope
Testing on the James Webb Space Telescope successfully resumed last week at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. On December 3, 2016, vibration testing automatically shut down early due to some sensor readings that exceeded predicted levels. After a thorough investigation, the James Webb Space Telescope team at NASA Goddard determined that the …
James WebbNASA Invites You to Create James Webb Space Telescope-inspired Art
How? Why? In November 2016, a small group of artists was selected to visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to see the James Webb Space Telescope in person, and to be inspired to create art. They have been busy ever since, producing amazing work that we are presenting for exhibit during Spring …
James WebbNASA’s Webb Telescope to Resume Vibration Testing in January
Vibration tests are one of the many tests that spacecraft and instruments endure to ensure they are fit for spaceflight. During routine testing of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, an unexpected response occurred from several of the more than 100 devices designed to detect small changes in the motion of the structure. This prompted the …
James WebbNASA Completes Webb Telescope Center of Curvature Pre-test
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 …
James WebbFinal Sunshield Layer Completed for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
The last of the five sunshield layers responsible for protecting the optics and instruments of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now complete. Designed by Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, the Webb telescope’s sunshield will prevent the background heat from the sun from interfering with the telescope’s infrared sensors. The five sunshield membrane layers, …
James WebbNASA Invites Artists to Visit James Webb Space Telescope
Witness History: Be inspired by giant, golden, fully-assembled James Webb Space Telescope mirror on display at NASA Goddard. Are you an artist? If so, we have a unique opportunity to view the amazing and aesthetic scientific marvel that is the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb has a mirror that is nearly 22 feet high and …
James WebbA Mechanical Harmony to NASA’s Webb Telescope Sunshield
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has a giant custom-built, kite-shaped sunshield driven by mechanics that will fold and unfold with a harmonious synchronicity 1 million miles from Earth. Like a car, many mechanical pieces in the Webb telescope’s sunshield will work together to open it from its stored folded position in the rocket that will …
James WebbNASA Seeks Picometer Accuracy
Team Develops New Tool to Assure Ultra-Stable Space Telescopes Finding and characterizing dozens of Earth-like planets will require a super-stable space telescope whose optical components move or distort no more than a few picometers — a measurement smaller than the size of an atom. It also will require next-generation tools with which to assure that …
James WebbThe Complex Material Engineering of NASA’s Webb Telescope Sunshield
The shiny silver material of the five-layer sunshield that will fly aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is a complex and innovative feat of material science and engineering. Each layer is made from a unique composite material, each has a specific thickness and size, and they must be precisely separated in space. There are even …
Page 07 / 07