NASA approves James Webb Space Telescope mirror design
Posted: Thu, Sep 11, 2003, 10:51 AM ET (1451 GMT)
NASA announced Wednesday that it has signed off on the mirror design for the James Webb Space Telescope, a spacecraft billed as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The design, approved by NASA and prime contractor Northrop Grumman Space Technology (formerly TRW), will use a primary mirror made of 18 hexagonal segments of beryllium. The beryllium mirror was part of the initial proposal that NASA selected one year ago, but conducted a six-month test of both it as well as an alternative technology, ultra low-expansion glass. Production of the mirror segments is scheduled to begin in the next few months, although the spacecraft is not scheduled for launch until August 2011. While both NASA and Northrop Grumman press releases indicate that the mirror will be 6.5 meters in diameter, reports in recent months indicated the telescope would be shrunk slightly to six meters across in a cost-savings effort.
NASA announced Wednesday that it has signed off on the mirror design for the James Webb Space Telescope, a spacecraft billed as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The design, approved by NASA and prime contractor Northrop Grumman Space Technology (formerly TRW), will use a primary mirror made of 18 hexagonal segments of beryllium. The beryllium mirror was part of the initial proposal that NASA selected one year ago, but conducted a six-month test of both it as well as an alternative technology, ultra low-expansion glass. Production of the mirror segments is scheduled to begin in the next few months, although the spacecraft is not scheduled for launch until August 2011. While both NASA and Northrop Grumman press releases indicate that the mirror will be 6.5 meters in diameter, reports in recent months indicated the telescope would be shrunk slightly to six meters across in a cost-savings effort.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, July 1
Move over Starlink, here comes Kuiper
Gulf News — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) USSF Seeks Industry Ideas For Space-Based Interceptors
Aviation Week — 4:57 am ET (0857 GMT) Don’t forget about Iran’s space program
POLITICO — 4:54 am ET (0854 GMT) EU Space Act is ‘orbital equivalent of GDPR’, says lawyer
Luxembourg Times — 4:53 am ET (0853 GMT) Poland’s second ever astronaut is safe in space
Euro Weekly News — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) |
