[meteorite-list] James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:43:46 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201401242043.s0OKhkEq019383_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

January 24, 2014

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington at nasa.gov

Lynn Chandler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2806
lynn.chandler-1 at nasa.gov
     
RELEASE 14-026
     
James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has passed its first significant mission
milestone for 2014 -- a Spacecraft Critical Design Review (SCDR) that
examined the telescope's power, communications and pointing control systems.

"This is the last major element-level critical design review of the program,"
said Richard Lynch, NASA Spacecraft Bus Manager for the James Webb Space
Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "What that
means is all of the designs are complete for the Webb and there are no major
designs left to do."

During the SCDR, the details, designs, construction and testing plans, and
the spacecraft's operating procedures were subjected to rigorous review by an
independent panel of experts. The week-long review involved extensive
discussions on all aspects of the spacecraft to ensure the plans to finish
construction would result in a vehicle that enables the powerful telescope
and science instruments to deliver their unique and invaluable views of the
universe.

"While the spacecraft that carries the science payload for Webb may not be as
glamorous as the telescope, it's the heart that enables the whole mission,"
said Eric Smith, acting program director and program scientist for the Webb
Telescope at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By providing many services
including telescope pointing and communication with Earth, the spacecraft is
our high tech infrastructure empowering scientific discovery."

Goddard Space Flight Center manages the mission. Northrop Grumman in Redondo
Beach, Calif., leads the design and development effort.

"Our Northrop Grumman team has worked exceptionally hard to meet this
critical milestone on an accelerated schedule, following the replan," said
Scott Willoughby, Northrop Grumman vice president and James Webb Space
Telescope program manager in Redondo Beach, Calif. "This is a huge step
forward in our progress toward completion of the Webb Telescope."

The James Webb Space Telescope, successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope,
will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. It will observe the
most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies
formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is
a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space
Agency.

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit:

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov

and

http://www.nasa.gov/webb

-end-
Received on Fri 24 Jan 2014 03:43:46 PM PST