Northrop Grumman delivers mid-boom assemblies for space telescope
NewsJune 28, 2017
CARPINTERIA, Calif. Northrop Grumman has delivered the mid-boom assemblies for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope; the two boom assemblies will help deploy the large sunshield once the Webb is in orbit.
The graphite-epoxy assemblies were designed, built, and tested by Northrop Grumman business unit Astro Aerospace. Northrop Grumman's contract with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center calls for the design and development of the Webb telescope’s optics, sunshield, and spacecraft.
The mid-boom assemblies attach to the sides of the spacecraft bus and extend in length to deploy the sunshield; as the mid-booms extend, they pull out Webb’s sunshield membranes with them and unfold them.
The James Webb Space Telescope -- the infrared-technology successor to the Hubble Space Telescope -- will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies formed, and study unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
