A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Astronomy and Astrophysics » Astronomy Misc
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Ottawa's EMS wins key component design contract for NASA's next giantspace telescope (Forwarded)



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 26th 05, 05:00 PM
Andrew Yee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ottawa's EMS wins key component design contract for NASA's next giantspace telescope (Forwarded)

Canadian Space Agency

September 26, 2005

Ottawa's EMS wins key component design contract for NASA's next giant
space telescope

LONGUEUIL, Quebec -- The Canadian Space Agency recently awarded a
$26.2-million contract to the Space and Technology Group of Ottawa-based
EMS Technologies for the detailed design of a fine guidance sensor and a
tuneable filter for NASA's next-generation space telescope.

The fine guidance sensor supplied by Canada is essential to the success
of the mission. It will track the positions of very faint stars with
great accuracy so that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can be
pointed steadily while its other instruments generate high-quality
images. The level of precision achieved will be like aiming at a dime
100 km away. This critical role makes the Canadian team very proud to be
part of this international project. The tuneable filter camera will
provide unique scientific capabilities. One example of these is
narrow-band imaging, a powerful way to explore the morphology of
celestial objects at very specific wavelengths.

Once launched in 2013, JWST will peer into the past, looking farther
than has ever been possible. It will observe the formation of the first
stars and galaxies of the universe and the beginning of time. With an
aperture diameter of 6.5 m, the surface of the telescope's main mirror
will be over seven times larger than Hubble's and hundreds of times more
sensitive than any other telescope to near-infrared light. Its
five-layer sunshield -- almost as large as a tennis court -- will keep
the instruments at 37 degrees above absolute zero and will allow the
telescope to detect faint, red-shifted signals from the early stages of
the universe. JWST will be stationed 1.5 million km from Earth to ensure
a stable and cold environment and reduce problems with stray light.

As a partner in the project, Canada is guaranteed science time with the
telescope. The Canadian science team in charge of the fine guidance
sensor is led by Dr. John Hutchings of the National Research Council's
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, B.C. Dr. René Doyon of
the physics department at the Université de Montréal leads the science
team in charge of the tuneable filter.

For further information:

Media Relations and Information Services
Canadian Space Agency
(450) 926-4370
nicholas.girard @ space.gc.ca

Graeme Maag
Director, Public Affairs
EMS Technologies
(514) 425-3079
maag.g @ ems-t.ca
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
ATK Awarded $13 Million Space Shuttle Booster Separation Motor Contract Jacques van Oene Space Shuttle 0 October 30th 03 03:08 PM
Pre-Columbia Criticism of NASA's Safety Culture in the late 1990's Greg Kuperberg Space Shuttle 68 September 18th 03 02:35 PM
NASA Selects Winning Student Design For Titan Aerial Vehicle Ron Baalke Technology 0 August 7th 03 06:08 AM
NASA Extends Spacesuit Contract Ron Baalke Space Shuttle 3 July 20th 03 03:10 AM
NASA Extends Spacesuit Contract Ron Baalke Space Station 3 July 20th 03 03:10 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:18 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.