Building The Next Hubble

  • Released Tuesday, February 9, 2016
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Scientists and engineers finish installing the primary mirrors on NASA's next-generation space observatory.

Scientists and engineers finish installing the primary mirrors on NASA's next-generation space observatory.

Once assembled, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever built. Its 18 primary mirror segments will work together as one large 21.3-foot diameter mirror to observe very distant objects in the cosmos. In February 2016, scientists and engineers completed installation of all of Webb’s primary mirrors onto the telescope in a large clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The team used a robotic arm reminiscent of a claw machine to meticulously place each of the hexagonal-shaped mirror segments onto the telescope structure. Each mirror is made of ultra-lightweight beryllium and coated with a thin layer of gold. The light detected by the mirrors will provide astronomers with images of the first galaxies ever formed, helping them study the many phases in the history of our universe, including the evolution of our own solar system. Watch the video to see a time-lapse of the mirror installation.

This time-lapse video shows the months-long process of installing all 18 primary mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The mirrors were packed up in special shipping canisters for shipping from the factory to Greenbelt, Maryland.

The mirrors were packed up in special shipping canisters for shipping from the factory to Greenbelt, Maryland.

Scientists inspect the gold coating of one of the telescope's mirrors in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Scientists inspect the gold coating of one of the telescope's mirrors in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Engineers used a robotic arm to place the mirrors onto the telescope structure. Each mirror is about 4.2 feet across and weighs 88 pounds.

Engineers used a robotic arm to place the mirrors onto the telescope structure. Each mirror is about 4.2 feet across and weighs 88 pounds.

All 18 mirrors are seen fully installed. The black protective panels covering the mirrors will be removed prior to Webb's launch in 2018.

All 18 mirrors are seen fully installed. The black protective panels covering the mirrors will be removed prior to Webb's launch in 2018.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-primary-mirror-fully-assembled

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NASA
Shipping canister image courtesy of Ball Aerospace
Mirror images courtesy of NASA/Chris Gunn

This page was originally published on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.