REDONDO BEACH, Calif.,
July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and teammate ATK
(NYSE: ATK) have completed static testing of the primary mirror
backplane support structure (PMBSS), moving NASA's James Webb Space
Telescope one step closer to its 2018 launch. The structure was
delivered to Northrop Grumman's facilities in Redondo Beach, completing a critical path
program milestone. Static testing demonstrates that the backplane
has the structural integrity to withstand the forces and vibrations
of launch, and is the final test prior to starting the integration
of the backplane with the rest of the telescope.
Photos accompanying this release are available at
http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=26352.
The PMBSS is one of the most lightweight (given its size and
complexity), precision-alignment truss structures ever designed and
built. It is the stable platform that holds the telescope's science
instruments and the 18 beryllium mirror-segments that form the
21-foot-diameter primary mirror nearly motionless while the
telescope peers into deep space. The primary mirror is the largest
mirror in the telescope, the one that starlight will hit first.
"This is the largest, most complex cryogenically stable
structure humans have ever built," said Scott Texter, Webb optical telescope element
manager, Northrop Grumman. "Completion of the static testing
verifies that it can hold the weight it is designed to hold. Now
the structural backbone of the observatory is officially verified
and ready for integration."
Northrop Grumman is under contract to NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland, and leads the industry team that designs and
develops the Webb Telescope's optics, sunshield and spacecraft. ATK
designed, engineered and constructed the more than 10,000 parts of
the entire PMBSS at its facilities in Magna, Utah. They used composite parts,
lightweight graphite materials, contemporary material sciences and
advanced fabrication techniques to build the structure.
"We are excited to deliver the state-of-the-art Webb structures
to our partner Northrop Grumman for the journey into deep space,"
said David Shanahan, vice president
and general manager of ATK's Space Components division. "ATK's
composite engineering and manufacturing accomplishments have been a
fantastic achievement for all of us. We look forward to the
discoveries that await the James Webb Space Telescope."
The highly efficient PMBSS will meet unprecedented thermal
stability requirements to minimize changes in the shape of the
telescope caused when one side is hotter than the other. While the
telescope is operating at a range of extremely cold temperatures
from -406 to -343 degrees Fahrenheit, the backplane must not move
more than 38 nanometers or approximately 1/1,000 the diameter of a
human hair.
Last fall, the structure underwent extreme cryogenic thermal
testing at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Next, Northrop Grumman
will integrate the composite structures with the deployment
mechanisms to create the overall optical telescope element
structure, which will then be shipped to NASA Goddard for
integration with the mirrors. NASA and Northrop Grumman will
continue cryogenic testing of the PMBSS structure after mirror
integration is complete.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's next-generation
space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The
most powerful space telescope ever built, the Webb Telescope will
observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of
the first galaxies formed and see unexplored planets around distant
stars. The Webb Telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European
Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
About ATK
ATK is an aerospace, defense and commercial products company with
operations in 22 states, Puerto
Rico and internationally. News and information can be found
on the Internet at www.atk.com, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/atk, or on Twitter @ATK.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121024/LA98563LOGO
SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation