We’re openly obsessed with the James Webb Space Telescope. A gorgeous photo released today reveals the secret of an enormous robotic arm used to place the mirror segments to within a paper’s width of the perfect location.
Here’s the full gorgeous photograph:
This is the first space telescope where the primary mirror is made of individual segments, each individually controlled to ensure perfect alignment. The mirror will fold up during launch, then unfold in space like an origami flower.
But before that can happen, the mirrors need to be mounted onto a frame. Precision is key for mirror segment placement — every segment can be no more than the thickness of a piece of paper off from its ideal theoretical location. The telescope’s Program Director Eric Smith explains, “A human operator cannot place the mirrors that accurately, so we developed a robotic system to do the assembly.”
Instead, the James Webb Space Telescope team built the Primary Mirror Alignment and Integration Fixture to lift, position, and lower each mirror segment. One team of engineers maneuvers the robotic arm, while another team takes laser measurements to precisely determine location. All locations are determined with respect to retroreflectors mounted to the frame of the telescope. Once the segment is in the right place, they bolt and glue it in position before moving on to the next segment.
We’re in love with the James Webb Space Telescope, tracking each step of testing the mirrors, getting them polished, and now finally installed. Once complete and launched, the infrared telescope will be the most powerful space telescope yet. It will be used in part to characterise exoplanets in the ongoing search for life beyond Earth.
You can watch telescope assembly (including placing the mirrors!) on a webcam live.
[NASA]
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn