James Webb Space Telescope Passes Inspection

REDONDO BEACH, CA — The James Webb telescope has passed its initial testing at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and will now head to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for more testing before its final assembly in Redondo Beach, NASA announced.

The test at Goddard was to simulate the stresses of a rocket launch and the telescope's mirrors pass with its optical system unscathed.

“The Webb telescope is about to embark on its next step in reaching the stars as it has successfully completed its integration and testing at Goddard. It has taken a tremendous team of talented individuals to get to this point from all across NASA, our industry and international partners, and academia,” said Bill Ochs, NASA’s Webb telescope project manager. “It is also a sad time as we say goodbye to the Webb Telescope at Goddard, but are excited to begin cryogenic testing at Johnson.”

Rocket launches create high levels of vibration and noise that rattle spacecraft and telescopes. The test done at Goddard was to ensure that functionality is not impaired by the rigorous ride on a rocket into space, NASA said.

Waves of visible light are less than a thousandth of a millimeter long and optics on the Webb telescope need to be shaped and aligned even more accurately than that to work correctly, according to NASA.

The Webb telescope will be shipped to Johnson for end-to-end optical testing in a vacuum at its extremely cold operating temperatures. Then it will continue on its journey to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, for final assembly and testing prior to launch in 2018.

The telescope, most advanced space observatory, is designed to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, from discovering the first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang to studying the atmospheres of planets around other stars.

It is a joint project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

SEE ALSO:

• Redondo Beach's Northrop Grumman Completes Sunshield for Webb Space Telescope
• James Webb Telescope Construction Moves Forward
• Webb Telescope Mirrors Ready for Testing
• Space Telescope Passes Critical Test

Photo Courtesy of NASA