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First sunshield layer completed for space telescope
REDONDO BEACH, Calif.—7KH¿UVWRI DVSDUWRIWKH¿QDOV\VWHPYDOLGDWLRQSURFHVV first flight layer is the culmination of years of powerful space telescope ever built, the Webb
WKH¿YHVXQVKLHOGOD\HUVWKDWZLOOPDNHLWSRV- “Our entire ManTech team has worked dili- development and manufacturing and we are
sible for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope thrilled to have accomplished this major pro- Telescope will observe distant objects in the
to image the formation of stars and galaxies gently to achieve the manufacturing comple- gram milestone.”
created more than 13.5 billion years ago, was tion of the first sunshield layer and success- universe, provide images of the first galaxies
delivered to Northrop Grumman’s Space Park fully deliver it to our partners at Northrop The Webb Telescope is the world’s next-
facility April 24. Grumman,” said Greg Laue, sunshield pro- generation space observatory and successor formed and see unexplored planets around
gram manager, NeXolve. “Delivery of the to the Hubble Space Telescope. The most
Northrop Grumman is designing the Webb distant stars. The Webb Telescope is a joint
Telescope’s optics, sunshield and spacecraft
for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in project of NASA, the European Space Agency
Greenbelt, Md., Innovative sunshield mem-
branes are being designed and manufactured by and the Canadian Space Agency.
NeXolve Corporation, a subsidiary of ManTech
International Corporation of Huntsville, Ala. The sunshield of NASA’s
James Webb Space
The Webb Telescope will be the largest tele- Telescope is the size
scope in space. Its sunshield, which is the size RI D WHQQLV FRXUW ,W LV
RIDWHQQLVFRXUWLVFRQVWUXFWHGZLWK¿YHLQ- constructed with five
dividual layers of Kapton, which effectively individual layers of Kapton,
reduces the temperatures between the hot and which effectively reduces
cold sides of the observatory by approximately the temperatures between
570 degrees Fahrenheit. Each successive layer the hot and cold sides
of the sunshield is cooler than the one below, of the observatory by
preventing the interference of background heat DSSUR[LPDWHO\GHJUHHV
with the telescope’s infrared sensor. Fahrenheit.
“Through extensive testing we have proven Northrop Grumman photograph by Alex Evers
that the innovative sunshield design works,”
said Jim Flynn, Webb sunshield manager,
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. “We
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NeXolve as we prepare for 2018 launch.”
NeXolve is manufacturing the other four
layers and will individually shape-test each to
ensure they meet requirements. This delivery
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RI¿QDOÀLJKWKDUGZDUHFRPSOHWLRQIRUWKHVXQ-
shield. Next, Northrop Grumman will integrate
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tem, to conduct folding and deployment testing
August 21, 2015 Aerotech News and Review 11
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