Harris Corporation Successfully Completes Testing for James Webb Space Telescope
Highlights:
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World’s most powerful space telescope will collect universe data never
previously observed -
Represents last significant test before telescope is integrated with
spacecraft - Integration culminates 15 years of work by Harris team
MELBOURNE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has partnered with NASA’s Johnson Space
Center to successfully complete thermal vacuum testing for the James
Webb Space Telescope – validating its ability to operate in the frigid
space environment.
The Webb telescope will be the premier space observatory of the next
decade, and will study galaxy, star and planet formation in the
universe. Harris’ team helped safeguard the telescope in Houston during
Hurricane Harvey and ensured uninterrupted testing – including
monitoring more than 1,000 sensors on the telescope around the clock. In
addition, Harris designed a multi-wavelength interferometer system that
aligned 18 mirror segments into one 6.5-meter phased primary mirror to
verify optical quality and placement.
“This testing culminates 15 years of hard work by our Harris team," said
Rob Mitrevski, vice president and general manager, Intelligence,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Harris Space and Intelligence Systems.
"This extraordinary program is certain to dramatically increase our
knowledge of the universe.”
Harris engineers integrated all 18 mirror segments on the Webb
telescope, as well as designed and installed the cryogenic test
equipment, including a simulator to mimic the temperature of the Sun.
Harris also built the structure that held and isolated the telescope
during vibration and acoustic testing.
With environmental, thermal and optical tests complete, the Webb
telescope will be shipped to California, where it will be integrated
with the spacecraft, forming the complete observatory. The Webb
telescope is designed to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the
universe, from discovering the first stars and galaxies that formed
after the big bang to studying the atmospheres of planets around other
stars. It is a joint project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency)
and the Canadian Space Agency.
About Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving customers’
toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that
connect, inform and protect. Harris supports government and commercial
customers in more than 100 countries and has approximately $6 billion in
annual revenue. The company is organized into three business segments:
Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Space and Intelligence
Systems. Learn more at harris.com.
Contacts
Space and Intelligence Systems
Irene Lockwood, 585-269-5517
[email protected]
or
Harris
Corporation
Jim Burke, 321-727-9131
[email protected]
