Backplane
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JWST's backplane is the large structure which holds and supprts the big hexagonal mirrors of the telescope. The backplane recently passed tests that show that it can handle its trip into space and operate correctly when the observatory launches in 2013. |
The backplane endured freezing conditions during the cryogenic tests at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. It is the largest structure ever tested in freezing temperatures, a necessary step to make sure it won't move in extreme cold. "We need [the backplane] to hold steady while we're observing," said Dr. John Mather, JWST Senior Project Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. "These tests show that it will do that," he said.The backplane was tested at temperatures from minus 405 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Kelvin) to minus 351 Fahrenheit (60 Kelvin) over periods lasting two to three days.
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From late June through mid-September, the tests took place in a special vacuum chamber at Marshall's X-Ray Calibration Facility. |
"These results represent a tremendous achievement for the JWST team," noted Martin Mohan, Northrop Grumman's JWST program manager. "The backplane performed
even better than expected and demonstrates the telescope's ability to stay accurately focused." (Northrop Grumman Corporation leads a team that is designing and building JWST under a contract with NASA.)
