Telescope mirrors pass temperature test

BOULDER – Six mirror segments built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for the James Webb Space Telescope have passed cryogenic temperature testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

The Webb’s 18 mirror segments were produced by a development team led by Ball Aerospace in Boulder.

Team members included Materion (formerly Brush Wellman) in Elmore, Ohio; Axsys Technologies in Cullman, Alabama; L3 Tinsley in Richmond, California; and QCI in Morristown, New Jersey.

Completion of the tests marks a significant milestone in the progress for NASA’s next astrophysical space observatory. All 21 mirrors that comprise the telescope have successfully completed final optical verification testing.

“Completion of cryogenic testing for the mirrors keeps the telescope on track and moving forward toward its 2018 launch date,´ said Cary Ludtke, vice president and general manager for the Ball Aerospace Civil and Operational Space strategic business unit.

Ball Aerospace is the principal optical subcontractor for the program, led by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, under contract to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

The James Webb Space Telescope mirror will be the largest ever flown in space and six times larger than Hubble’s mirror. The large, light-collecting area of the primary mirror allows superior viewing of extremely faint targets.

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