Brenda Marie Rivers
Northrop Grumman and NASA have demonstrated the operability of electrical interfaces between two key components of the James Webb Space Telescope.
The Optical Telescope element/Integrated Science instrument module and Spacecraft element demonstration marked as the first integration and testing effort ahead of an observatory-level evaluation that will begin once the system is fully integrated, Northrop said Tuesday.
“Completing tests such as this one are among many firsts for Webb, and they retire risk on our critical path forward toward launch,” said Scott Willoughby, vice president and program manager for JWST at Northrop.
The company-agency team tested Webb’s commanding motors built to control the 18 segments of its primary mirror as part of risk reduction efforts.
JWST is a joint space science mission of NASA and its Canadian and European counterparts.
