NASA's Webb Telescope gets freezing summertime lodging in Houston
2017-06-22
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was placed in Johnson Space Center’s historic Chamber A on June 20 to prepare for its final three months of testing in a cryogenic vacuum that mimics temperatures in space.
Engineers will perform the test to prove that the telescope can operate in space at these temperatures. Chamber A will simulate an environment where the telescope will experience extreme cold—around 37 Kelvin (minus 236 degrees Celsius, or minus 393 degrees Fahrenheit).
In space, the telescope must be kept extremely cold in order to be able to detect the infrared light from very faint, distant objects. To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the sun, Earth and moon), as well as from heat emitted by the observatory, a five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield acts like a parasol that provides shade. The sunshield separates the observatory into a warm, sun-facing side (reaching temperatures close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and a cold side (185 degrees below zero). The sunshield blocks sunlight from interfering with the sensitive telescope instruments.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space observatory ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
For more information about Chamber A, click here.
For more information about the Webb telescope visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Engineers will perform the test to prove that the telescope can operate in space at these temperatures. Chamber A will simulate an environment where the telescope will experience extreme cold—around 37 Kelvin (minus 236 degrees Celsius, or minus 393 degrees Fahrenheit).
In space, the telescope must be kept extremely cold in order to be able to detect the infrared light from very faint, distant objects. To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the sun, Earth and moon), as well as from heat emitted by the observatory, a five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield acts like a parasol that provides shade. The sunshield separates the observatory into a warm, sun-facing side (reaching temperatures close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and a cold side (185 degrees below zero). The sunshield blocks sunlight from interfering with the sensitive telescope instruments.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space observatory ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
For more information about Chamber A, click here.
For more information about the Webb telescope visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sits inside Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn