Thu, Mar 17, 2022
With The Majority of Preparation Complete, The Path Forward is Clear for Imaging by Year-End 2022
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has successfully completed the alignment of its multifaceted mirror system, completing a key stage of its preparations for use in the coming months.
The Webb team announced completion of the fine phasing stage of preparation for the imaging systems, ensuring that no measurable contamination or blockage to the telescope's optical path have accumulated throughout its brief journey thus far. The team can now rest easy, reasonably assured that the complex system will deliver once the majority of its systems come fully online.
While it has always been assumed that the satellite would successfully complete its setup protocols, each step of the process needed to unfold and align the complex array of focusing mirrors proved to be a nail-biter for engineers always expecting the next unforeseen "learning experience." Thankfully, the Webb team will remain un-edified, as the 21-foot primary array has successfully adjusted and focused itself to tolerances measured in nanometers.
“In addition to enabling the incredible science that Webb will achieve, the teams that designed, built, tested, launched, and now operate this observatory have pioneered a new way to build space telescopes,” said Lee Feinberg, Webb's optical telescope element manager.
“We have fully aligned and focused the telescope on a star, and the performance is beating specifications. We are excited about what this means for science,” said Ritva Keski-Kuha, deputy optical telescope element manager. "We now know we have built the right telescope.”
“More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope that anyone has ever put in space and came up with an audacious optical design to meet demanding science goals,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA. “Today we can say that design is going to deliver.”
More News
How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]
Aero Linx: International Association of Professional Gyroplane Training (IAPGT) We are an Association of people who fly, build or regulate Gyroplanes, who have a dream of a single >[...]
NORDO (No Radio) Aircraft that cannot or do not communicate by radio when radio communication is required are referred to as “NORDO.”>[...]
Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) The operation of a UAS beyond the visual capability of the flight crew members (i.e., remote pilot in command [RPIC], the person manipulating th>[...]
Aero Linx: Malibu M-Class Owners and Pilots Association (MMOPA) The Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots Association (PMOPA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the interest>[...]