The near infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) and the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have completed cryogenic vacuum tests at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Washington DC, US.
NIRSpec and MIRI are within the JWST’s integrated science instrument module (ISIM). The tests are the second of three tests at Nasa’s centre.
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As part of the tests, the ISIM and its instruments have been cooled to temperatures of around, 235°C and -266°C for NIRSpec and MIRI respectively. At functional and performance tests and extensive check-outs were conducted.
Developed and built by Airbus Defence and Space, the NIRSpec is designed to measure the spectrum of around one hundred objects at a time, to enable it view large galaxies and stars at unmatched depths and far back in time.
MIRI will extend JWST’s observation capabilities to longer wavelengths and helps study light from objects in the early universe.
JWST is designed to analyse the faint light from the first stars and galaxies that formed in the universe.
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By GlobalDataThe astronomical telescope is said to be the largest-of-its-kind, and will replace Hubble telescope. It is scheduled for launch aboard an Ariane 5 from French Guiana spaceport in 2018.
Airbus Defence and Space Space Systems head Francois Auque said: "JWST will be hugely important in expanding our understanding of how our universe evolved.
"Especially NIRSpec is further proof of Airbus Defence and Space’s unrivalled expertise."
The ISIM will now undergo acoustic, vibration and electro-magnetic compatibility testing to replicate the launch environment.
Planned for 2015, the third thermal vacuum test will evaluate the functions of ISIM and science instruments before the next level of the telescope integration and testing.
The JWST project is a partnership of Nasa, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
Image: An artistic view of James Webb Space Telescope. Photo: courtesy of Nasa / Northrop Grumman.
