Page 22 - Journal 2018A

Space Origami
Leanne Wheaton
Education Program Manager, South Australian Museum
To see the rst light of the Universe is the bold, aspirational claim being made by an international collaboration between NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency as together they launch a next generation space telescope in 2020.
James Webb Space Telescope, Artist Impression Source: JWST.nasa.gov
This telescope will succeed the famous
and enormously successful Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This new telescope, named after the second NASA director and space science champion James Webb, will eclipse the range and capabilities of the HST in
a host of ways. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will have a primary mirror with 6.25 times more collection area and will predominantly observe in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum with some capability in the visible range. While the HST is described as observing ‘toddler galaxies’ the JWST will observe ‘baby galaxies’ and allow astronomers to study every phase in the history of the Universe.
In addition to the primary and secondary mirrors, solar array, antenna and instruments,
the JWST when fully deployed will have a multilayered sunshield the area of a tennis court to protect the observatory from the light and heat of the Sun and Earth. The shield membranes, made from a polymer material called Kapton, are as thin as a human hair and will enable the telescope to operate at a temperature of 50 degrees above absolute zero. Deploying this delicate sophisticated equipment presents a signi cant engineering challenge.
How do you launch a large observatory with the surface area of a tennis court into space without causing it damage? The simple answer is - origami!
20 | SASTA Journal
Folding the Miura Origami Pattern
Linking origami concepts with the development of space technology was a
key component of the facilitated education program presented by the South Australian Museum in partnership with the Department for Education during the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Adelaide last year.
As part of understanding the new technology incorporated into instruments like the JWST, students participated in a hands-on STEM activity making ‘space origami’ using an