Status of the James Webb Space Telescope mission

Michael W. McElwain; Lee D. Feinberg; Randy A. Kimble; Charles W. Bowers; J. Scott Knight; Malcolm B. Niedner; Marshall D. Perrin; Jane R. Rigby; Erin C. Smith; Christopher C. Stark; John C. Mather

doi:10.1117/12.2562425

15 December 2020 Status of the James Webb Space Telescope mission

Michael W. McElwain, Lee D. Feinberg, Randy A. Kimble, Charles W. Bowers, J. Scott Knight, Malcolm B. Niedner, Marshall D. Perrin, Jane R. Rigby, Erin C. Smith, Christopher C. Stark, John C. Mather

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11443, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 114430T (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562425
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

The James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) is the largest space telescope realized to-date, with a 6.5 m segmented primary mirror that must be folded to fit within its Ariane 5 launcher fairing. This infrared telescope is passively cooled using a five-layer sunshield that will keep the optical telescope and its four science instruments in the shade throughout the lifetime of the mission in an L2 orbit. Webb's science instruments include near- and mid- infrared imagers and spectrometers that cover the spectral range from 0.6-28.5 μ.m The Webb mission has a long history with numerous first of its kind technology developments, ground support equipment innovations, and algorithmic characterization advances. This conference proceeding summarizes the technical progress over the past two years, from the Spacecraft Element environmental testing to the Observatory integration and testing, and the final Observatory test plans leading up to launch, on-orbit commissioning, and science operations.

Conference Presentation

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Michael W. McElwain, Lee D. Feinberg, Randy A. Kimble, Charles W. Bowers, J. Scott Knight, Malcolm B. Niedner, Marshall D. Perrin, Jane R. Rigby, Erin C. Smith, Christopher C. Stark, and John C. Mather "Status of the James Webb Space Telescope mission", Proc. SPIE 11443, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 114430T (15 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562425

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