NASA Approves James Webb Space Telescope Mirror Architecture

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/2003/27/

FOR RELEASE: 4:00 p.m. (EDT) September 10, 2003

CONTACT:
Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Nancy Neal
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone: 301-286-0039)

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
(Phone: 410-338-4514)

PRESS RELEASE NO.: STScI-PR03-27


NASA APPROVES JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE MIRROR ARCHITECTURE

NASA today announced a major milestone in the development of
the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the selection of a
beryllium-based mirror technology for the telescope's 6.5-meter
primary mirror. The JWST prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, Redondo
Beach, Calif., recommended to NASA the mirror technology, supplied by
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo., be selected
for the JWST primary mirror.

Northrop Grumman made the recommendation following a detailed
process that took advantage of insights from a panel of experts
representing the contractor team, NASA and the science
community. Two mirror technologies, beryllium and ultra
low-expansion glass, were tested, and their implementation plans
were thoroughly reviewed during a six-month evaluation. Technical
performance, manufacturing schedule, facilities, staffing, and cost
were factors taken into consideration.

The production of the beryllium-based mirrors will begin within the
next year. The mirrors will be incorporated into optical assemblies,
mounted on the telescope structure, and subjected to a series of
tests at cryogenic temperatures, individually and as an integrated
system.

The Observatory design features a 6.5-meter aperture primary
mirror, comprised of 18 hexagonal shaped segments. The telescope
will be 2.5 times the diameter, yet weigh only one-third as much,
as the mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST will be orders
of magnitude more sensitive than ground-based infrared
telescopes.

After launch in 2011, JWST will peer into the infrared at great
distances to see the first stars and galaxies formed in the universe
billions of years ago. A flagship mission in NASA's Origins
Program, JWST will search for answers to astronomers'
fundamental questions about the birth and evolution of galaxies, the
size and shape of the universe, and the mysterious life cycle of
matter.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages
the JWST project for NASA Headquarters Office of Space Science,
Washington. The project consists of an international team involving
NASA, the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency,
industry and academia.

Northrop Grumman is prime contractor leading a team including Ball
Aerospace, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.; and Alliant
Techsystems, Magna, Utah. The major beryllium mirror
subcontractors to Ball Aerospace are Tinsley Laboratories,
Richmond, Calif.; Axsys Technologies, Cullman, Ala.; and Brush
Wellman Inc., Elmore, Ohio.