James Webb Space Telescope Marks Successful Completion of Optical Telescope Element Design Review (Forwarded)

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Dec. 3, 2007
301-286-4044

Richard Bent
Northrop Grumman Corp., Redondo Beach, Calif.
310-812-4215

RELEASE NO. 07-74

James Webb Space Telescope Marks Successful Completion of Optical Telescope
Element Design Review

GREENBELT, Md. -- A preliminary design review has concluded and verified
the integrated performance of all subsystems in the Optical Telescope
Element on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

The Optical Telescope Element or OTE is the "eye" of the Webb
Observatory. The telescope consists of a 6.5-meter (21.3 foot) primary
mirror; secondary, tertiary and fine steering mirrors; and supporting
structures, deployable tower and control electronics.

"The successful completion of the Optical Telescope Element Preliminary
Design Review is a significant milestone in the telescope development
which demonstrates it's full feasibility and which allows the team to
move on to final, detailed designs," said Lee Feinberg, James Webb Space
Telescope Optical Telescope Element Manager at NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

"Meeting rigorous technology development requirements and successfully
completing component design reviews earlier this year have given us
confidence that the telescope will perform its mission within our cost
and schedule commitments," said Martin Mohan, JWST program manager for
Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. Northrop Grumman is NASA's
prime contactor for the Webb Telescope, leading the design and
development effort under contract to NASA Goddard.

Last January, before a team of experts assembled by NASA, the Northrop
Grumman the telescope team demonstrated that the technology ready to
move into the detailed engineering phase. Technology Readiness Level 6
was achieved for all critical telescope components, meaning prototypes
had been successfully tested in a thermal vacuum chamber. The thermal
vacuum simulates the very cold temperatures and vacuum of space.

At the review, the team also presented a plan for the final assembly and
verification of the telescope. This includes all subsystems, backplane,
thermal controls and hardware for sub-assemblies as well as simulated
space environment testing at Johnson Space Center, Houston.

Significant progress is being made on key portions of the telescope.
Machining of the 18 primary mirror flight segments was completed earlier
this year and currently the backplane, which supports the primary
mirror, is being fabricated.

The Webb Telescope will be the premier space observatory of the next
decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every
phase in the history of our universe, from the first galaxies assembled
in the universe, to the formation of solar systems potentially capable
of supporting life, to the evolution of our own Solar System.

For related images on this story, please visit on the Web:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/...t_optical.html

For more information on the James Webb Space Telescope, visit:
http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov