In a Mechanism Far, Far Away

Abstract

This article describes features of James Webb Space Telescope, which is going to take the place of the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011. The Webb telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory, and the project is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Webb Space Telescope will use extremely large aperture, low-mass mirrors. Made in segments so they can be folded to fit into a rocket nose cone for flight, they will open and array themselves when they reach their destination. These robust mirrors must be fabricated rapidly and cost-effectively. There are significant manufacturing challenges in the composite backplanes for the primary mirror. These are to be made from boron composites for their stiffness. The analysis and manufacturing challenges in the backplane are the adhesives used to combine all the composite parts and the uniformity to which the composites themselves can be manufactured. The structure of the primary mirror for the Webb Telescope permits small adjustments.