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Webb Conversations: James Webb Space Telescope Coming Together

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This is the third installment in a four-part series of conversations with Paul Geithner Deputy Project Manager - Technical for Webb telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland about different aspects of the Webb.

The James Webb Space Telescope will gaze into the universe in infrared light and look farther back in time than previous telescopes, allowing scientists to look through cosmic dust to see stars forming. Paul discusses how the Webb telescope is coming together.

Q: The James Webb Space Telescope continues to come together, but what needs to happen between now and launch?

Paul: We plan to launch in 2018. There are still a lot of tests to be conducted, and many components will be traveling to different places between now and then as part of this testing and assembly process.

Q: What progress is planned for 2015?

Paul: The Webb telescope is being built-up and tested now, after many years of technology development and design. Now through the end of 2015, the actual telescope structure gets populated with mirror segments, and the instrument module, or the "heart" of the telescope, gets some work done on it, gets shaken on a big vibration table that simulates the rigors of launch, and goes into the vacuum chamber again for another roughly 4-month duration cold vacuum test.

In the meantime, the sunshield and spacecraft bus are being fabricated and assembled and tested, as are many large pieces of test equipment.

More specifically, the Webb telescope program's next big steps in 2015 include 1) change out of some key components of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) prior to further testing, 2) start of assembly of the actual flight telescope, and 3) continued construction of the spacecraft bus and sunshield. The most prominent key components being changed-out on the instrument module are the near-infrared detectors in the three near-infrared instruments. Right now, the near-infrared instruments have been removed from the module and are having their detectors changed-out at Goddard.

The flight telescope structure will arrive at Goddard this summer and the flight mirrors will be installed on it the rest of 2015. Meanwhile, the spacecraft bus and sunshield continue to be put together at Northrop-Grumman in California. 4) Another significant set of activities in 2015 is testing of test equipment at Johnson Space Center in preparation for testing of the integrated telescope and instrument module in 2017.

Also a highlight at Goddard recently has been rehearsing telescope assembly using the prototype "Pathfinder" telescope, in prep for actual flight telescope assembly in 2015. The Pathfinder shipped to Johnson at the beginning of February and will be used in precursor tests leading up to OTIS (Optical Telescope Element plus ISIM) testing.

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Webb Conversations: James Webb Space Telescope Coming Together

NASA Womens History Month Profile Cecile Saltzman (Stennis Space Center) – Video

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NASA Womens History Month Profile Cecile Saltzman (Stennis Space Center)
Ccile Saltzman is a Human Resources Specialist at NASA #39;s John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. She leads SSC employee relations, including the broad impact areas...

By: NASA

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NASA Womens History Month Profile Cecile Saltzman (Stennis Space Center) - Video

China plans 20 space launches this year including maiden flight of its own space shuttle

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Chinese space authorities planning to send 40 different aircraft into orbit One of the ships will be 'space bus' which can launch 10 satellites at once Yuanzheng 1 - China's largest ever rocket - can restart its engine 20 times It became third country to launch manned space mission in October 2003 In 2013, 'soft-landed' first object on the moon since Soviet mission in 1976

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 08:43 EST, 18 March 2015 | Updated: 08:53 EST, 18 March 2015

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China's space authorities have announced plans to launch over 40 different spacecrafts into orbit in 20 separate launches this year.

One of the vessels to be launched is the ground-breaking Yuanzheng 1 - also known as the 'space bus' - which can launch 10 different satellites at once.

2013 was a massive year for China whose scientists launched 16 spacecraft to firmly establish their cosmic credentials.

In October 2003, it became only the third country in history to independently launch a manned mission into space on the Shenzhou 5.

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China plans 20 space launches this year including maiden flight of its own space shuttle

NASA's RapidScat sees waning winds of Tropical Depression Bavi

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IMAGE:RapidScat data showed Tropical Depression Bavi's strongest surface winds were northwest of the center at 17 m/s (38 mph/61 kph) and weaker around the rest of the storm.... view more

Tropical Cyclone Bavi weakened to a depression and NASA's RapidScat instrument measured its waning winds from space.

On March 17 the RapidScat instrument aboard the International Space Station (ISS) measured Bavi's surface winds from 01:28 to 3:01 UTC. RapidScat data showed surface winds were strongest winds in the northwestern quadrant. Sustained winds were near 17 m/s (38 mph/61 kph) and weaker around the rest of the storm.

On March 18 at 0000 UTC (March 17 at 8 p.m. EDT), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that Bavi's maximum sustained winds dropped to 25 knots 28.7 mph/46.3 kph). It was located near 15.8 north latitude and 132.8 east longitude, approximately 489 nautical miles northwest of Yap, and was moving westward at 6 knots (6.9 mph/11.1 kph).

Bavi is moving west and weakening. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Bavi to dissipate sometime on March 19.

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NASA's RapidScat sees waning winds of Tropical Depression Bavi

Lockheed Martin jumps into the NASA space taxi race

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This rendering depicts Lockheed Martin's Jupiter spacecraft and Exoliner cargo carrier connected to the International Space Station. ( Lockheed Martin illustration by Steve Hartman)

Littleton-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems is jumping into the entry pool to be the next selected to ferry supplies to and from the International Space Station.

The company submitted a three-part system the Jupiter reusable spacecraft, Exoliner cargo container and a long robotic arm that takes inspiration from the Space Shuttle's similar appendage to try to win a piece of the $14 billion NASA pie.

"We know how important it is to get astronauts on the ISS the supplies they need on time, every time," said Wanda Sigur, vice president of Lockheed Martin's civil space division. "Our approach is designed to deliver a large volume of critical supplies and cargo with each flight, and do so on schedule."

Here's how it works: Jupiter and Exoliner would launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and deliver their cargo to ISS. Jupiter would remain in orbit, leaving the old Exoliner behind on ISS.

Once another Exoliner cargo delivery arrives, Jupiter would remove the old Exoliner from ISS, and replace it with the new. The old cargo container would fall from orbit, burning up upon reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

As part of the bid for the NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract, the company is positioning the configuration as a potential support for future deep space exploration think interstellar mini-marts placed throughout space, serving as prepositioned stations to provide astronauts with food, fuel and equipment.

Lockheed Martin looked to their previous designs to guide its commercial resupply contract entry. Jupiter builds on the heritage of MAVEN, currently in orbit around Mars, and asteroid explorer OSIRIS-REx, currently under construction at the company's Waterton Canyon facility.

They also looked to the cargo carrier used on ISS' current Automated Transfer Vehicle to guide the Exoliner, which would have both pressurized and unpressurized cargo capacity.

The award of the contract to Lockheed Martin would bring work to Colorado, including engineering, production and testing of the Jupiter spacecraft and Exoliner 's unpressurized cargo carrier and Mission Support Module, which carries Jupiter's refueling supply, according to company spokeswoman Allison Rakes.

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Lockheed Martin jumps into the NASA space taxi race

Elon Musk on Innovation, Space Flight, Education, Mars, Electric Cars, Life Insurance (2011) – Video

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Elon Musk on Innovation, Space Flight, Education, Mars, Electric Cars, Life Insurance (2011)
Elon Reeve Musk (/iln msk/; born June 28, 1971) is a South Africa-born, Canadian-American entrepreneur, engineer, inventor and investor. He is the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and chief...

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Elon Musk on Innovation, Space Flight, Education, Mars, Electric Cars, Life Insurance (2011) - Video

Media Invited to View Orion Heat Shield and Interview Leadership; Attend Pass the Torch Lecture

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Media are invited interact with NASA experts on March 17 at 1 p.m. as the Orion spacecraft heat shield is prepped for installation into NASAs Marshall Space Flight Centers 7-axis milling and machining tool. The heat shield will be loaded into the one-of-a-kind machine, where NASA experts will extract samples of the ablative material to study and measure the erosion incurred upon the crafts high-velocity re-entry during its Dec. 5, 2014 flight test.

Mark Kirasich, NASA Orion deputy program manager; Larry Price, Lockheed Martin Orion deputy program manager; and Larry Gagliano, Marshalls deputy project manager for the Orion Launch Abort System, will make brief remarks and be available for questions.

The following day, March 18 at 5:30 p.m., the Orion team will describe how the vehicle performed during the Dec. 5 flight test at a Pass the Torch Lecture at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the official visitor information center for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The speakers will be Price and Roger Rieger, director of Human Launch Services at United Launch Alliance. The event is free and open to the public and the media.

News media interested in covering the March 17 media opportunity at Marshall should contact Jennifer Stanfield at 256-544-0034.

Media must report to the Redstone Visitor Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard no later than noon CDT, March 17, for escort. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. Journalists will need a photo identification and proof of car insurance.

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Media Invited to View Orion Heat Shield and Interview Leadership; Attend Pass the Torch Lecture

NASA helps EWU student realize rocket dream

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By Jeff Bunch

Eastern Washington University student Jesse Shelly has always been fascinated with rockets, space flight and the men and women who make it happen.The former air traffic controller got to live out one of his dreams last week.

EWU student Jesse Shelly with astronaut Stan Love

Shelly, a junior studying mechanical engineering and a member of the rocket club, was given the opportunity to participate as a social media ambassador for last weeks test firing in Utah of the largest rocket booster ever made.

Shelly attended the two-day event as a de facto member of the media. He earned his spot by applying through a program run by NASA that was looking for 45 people to learn about the rocket program, see the test firing and promote all of it on social media.

The March 10-11 event was called, Get Fired Up! Experience the Most Powerful Rocket Booster Ever Built. It featured the first test of NASAs Space Launch Systems booster that was built and tested by contractor ATK Aerospace Group.

NASA described the significance of the event on its website before the launch:

NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to see the test firing for the largest, most powerful booster ever built for theSpace Launch System (SLS) NASAs new heavy-lift rocket in development to enable missions farther into space than ever before.When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS on its way to deep space missions, including to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. The solid rocket boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight providing more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the launch vehicle to escape the gravitational pull of Earth.

In addition to the test firing on March 11, Shelly and the NASA Social team were able to tour of the ATK facilities in Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for SLS boosters, which have been used in a long line of space missions. Shelly and other attendees also got a chance to ask questions of NASA and ATK representatives at a press conference that aired live on NASA TV.

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NASA helps EWU student realize rocket dream

Atlas V rocket blasts magnetospheric science satellites into space

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Kennedy Space Center, Fla. NASAs constellation ofstate-of-the-art magnetospheric science satellitessuccessfully rocketed to orbit late Thursday night, March 12, during a spectacular nighttime launch on a mission to unravel the mysteries of the process known as magnetic reconnection.

The $1.1 BillionMagnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) missionis composedof four formation flying satellites blasted to Earth orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, precisely on time at 10:44 p.m. EDT.

Magnetic reconnectionis a little understood natural process whereby magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect while explosively releasing vast amounts of energy. It occurs throughout the universe.

NASAs fleet of four MMS spacecraft will soon start the first mission devoted to studying the phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. Scientists believe that it is the catalyst for some of the most powerful explosions in our solar system.

The night launch of the venerable Atlas V booster turned night into day as the 195 foot tall rocket roared to life on the fiery fury of about a million and a half pounds of thrust, thrillinf spectators all around the Florida space coast and far beyond.

NASAs four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft were stacked like pancakes on top of one another and encapsulated inside the rocket extended nose cone atop the Atlas V.

The venerable rocket continues to enjoy a 100% success rate. It launched in the Atlas V 421 configuration with a 4-meter diameter Extra Extended Payload Fairing along with two Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket motors attached to the Atlas booster first stage.

The two stage Atlas V delivered the MMS satellites to a highly elliptical orbit. They were then deployed from the rockets Centaur upper stage sequentially, in five-minute intervals beginning at 12:16 a.m. Friday, March 13. The last separation occurred at 12:31 a.m.

About 10 minutes later at 12:40 a.m., NASA scientists and engineers confirmed the health of all four spacecraft.

I am speaking for the entire MMS team when I say were thrilled to see all four of our spacecraft have deployed and data indicates we have a healthy fleet, said Craig Tooley, project manager at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

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Atlas V rocket blasts magnetospheric science satellites into space

Best Space Stories of the Week March 15, 2015

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NASA launched a new space-weather mission, scientists found evidence of a hydrothermal system on Saturn's ocean-bearing moon Enceladus and three astronauts returned safely to Earth after nearly six months aboard the International Space Station. Here's a look at Space.com's top stories of the week:

NASA space weather mission takes flight

NASA launched its Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, which consists of four satellites that will study energy eruptions in Earths magnetic field caused by space weather. MMS blasted off Thursday night (March 12) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. [Full Story: Spectacular Night Launch Sends NASA Satellites on Hunt for Magnetic Collisions]

A hydrothermal system on Enceladus

Scientists have found evidence of active hydrothermal vents on Saturn's ice-covered moon Enceladus. Conditions deep in Enceladus' subsurface ocean may therefore be similar to those that gave rise to the first life on Earth. [Full Story: Hot Springs on Saturn's Moon Enceladus Powered by Hydrothermal Vents]

Spaceflyers come home

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft touched down on the steppes of Kazakhstan Wednesday night (March 11), wrapping up a nearly six-month stint aboard the International Space Station for NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova. [Full Story: US-Russian Space Crew Returns to Earth After 167 Days in Orbit]

Happy birthday, Kepler!

NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, which has discovered more than half of all known planets beyond our solar system, just celebrated six years in space. The prolific planet hunter blasted off on March 6, 2009. [Full Story: Happy Birthday, Kepler! NASA Planet Hunter Marks 6 Years in Space]

NASA test-fires booster for Space Launch System megarocket

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Best Space Stories of the Week March 15, 2015


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