This Newsletter can also be found at:
http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/newsletter8.html
JWST PASSES MISSION CDR
JWST passed the Mission CDR in April--the largest mission milestone to
date. The Mission CDR encompassed other recent successful CDRs,
including the four science instruments and Integrated Science Instrument
Module (ISIM), the Optical Telescope Element, and the Sunshield. The
Mission CDR focused on validation of the mission design, included
integrated performance modeling, and the verification plan to test the
observatory. The Mission CDR officially approved the observatory design.
Many flight components of the telescope with long lead times are already
underway, including the mirrors (see 'JWST's First Primary Mirror
Polished to Specifications' in this Newsletter below) and primary mirror
backplane structure. The final CDR for the Spacecraft will be held next
year.
GODDARD ACCEPTS DELIVERY OF ENGINEERING TEST UNITS FOR ALL OF THE WEBB'S
SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS
JWST’s instrument payload consists of four science instruments described
at http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/instruments.html. An Engineering Test Unit
(ETU) has been constructed for each of them to verify key aspects of
design functionality at the instrument provider’s plant. These ETUs are
then used by GSFC to verify: procedures for integrating the instruments
into the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), compatibility of
the instruments with each other, and compatibility with the ISIM support
systems that are shared among them. The ETUs for NIRCam, NIRSpec, and
MIRI have arrived in the GSFC Spacecraft Systems Development and
Integration Facility (SSDIF) and can often been seen via webcam at
http://jwst.nasa.gov/webcam.html. The FGS ETU has been delivered “in
place” at its providers plant in Ottawa Canada where it will remain
through the summer before shipment to the SSDIF.
JWST'S FIRST PRIMARY MIRROR POLISHED TO SPECIFICATIONS
JWST's first primary mirror segment was polished to meet required
cryogenic operating temperatures in early March at the X-ray and
Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The
testing demonstrates that cryopolished mirrors will meet their optical
requirements in the cryogenic environment of L2. The polished mirror
segment will undergo additional extensive testing in order to verify its
performance. This first polished mirror will serve as a flight spare and
has paved the way for the remaining 18 flight mirror segments to undergo
cryo-polishing, which is already underway. In addition to the primary
mirror segment, the flight Tertiary mirror, flight Fine steering and
flight-spare secondary mirrors completed their cryo-polishing with every
mirror meeting requirements. Gold coating of flight mirrors has started
with the successful coating of the tertiary mirror.
OTHER JWST NEWS
Would you like a colloquium at your university on JWST? How about a talk
at a conference you are organizing? These JWST Science Working Group
members are willing to give a talk. All expenses will be paid by the
JWST project.
Mark Clampin, GSFC, “Exoplanets with JWST.”
Rene Doyon, Universite de Montreal, “JWST Tunable Filter Science.”
Jonathan Gardner, GSFC, “JWST and Galaxy Evolution.”
Matt Greenhouse, GSFC, “JWST Mission Overview and Status.”
Heidi Hammel, Space Science Institute, “Planetary Exploration with JWST.”
John Hutchings, DAO, “JWST’s Guider and Tunable Filter Imager.”
Jonathan Lunine, University of Arizona & University of Rome, “JWST,
Exoplanets and the Solar System.”
John Mather, GSFC, “JWST Mission Overview and Status.”
George Rieke, University of Arizona, “Debris Disks and the Evolution of
Planetary Systems.”
Marcia Rieke, University of Arizona, "NIRCam for JWST: Exoplanets to
Deep Surveys."
Eric Smith, NASA HQ, “JWST, the NASA Astrophysics Program and the
Decadal Survey.”
George Sonneborn, GSFC, “Imaging and Spectroscopy with JWST.”
Massimo Stiavelli, STScI, "Studying the first galaxies and reionization
with JWST."
Rogier Windhorst, Arizona State University, “JWST and Reionization” or
“JWST and Supermassive Black Hole Growth.”
To arrange a talk, please email contactswg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or contact the
speaker directly. The speakers are also available to give JWST Mission
Overview talks and talks at the general public level.
The Goddard Public Affairs Office has recently released two items: the
Goddard Cleanroom Webb Cam (jwst.nasa.gov/webcam.html), and the JWST
"Movie Trailer"
(nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/webb-movie-trailer.html).
