Clean air shower curtain for protection of contamination sensitive telescopes on the Ariane 5 launcher

Marco Calcabrini; Alan C. Abeel; Amelia Simon; Eve M. Wooldridge; Bruno Erin

doi:10.1117/12.2638493

3 October 2022 Clean air shower curtain for protection of contamination sensitive telescopes on the Ariane 5 launcher

Marco Calcabrini, Alan C. Abeel, Amelia Simon, Eve M. Wooldridge, Bruno Erin

Proceedings Volume 12224, Space Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2022; 122240H (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2638493
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2022, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was successfully performed by Ariane 5 from French Guiana on December 25th 2021. The unique nature of the JWST mission led to various adaptations of the Ariane 5 launch system to fulfill stringent cleanliness and hygrometry requirements all along the launch preparation. JWST integration and test activities in the Final Assembly Building (BAF) had to be performed in ISO Class 7 equivalent conditions under Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) protection and monitoring. For this purpose, a dedicated air supply system equipped with Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) filters was installed in the umbilical mast. The fairing itself was specially sealed to protect the inner environment, and to, guarantee ISO Class 7, the BAF Composite Hall (BAF-HC) facilities were upgraded with a removable “Air Shower Curtain” (AShC) containment enclosure between the mobile platforms around JWST. The preparation of these Ariane 5 launch system adaptations started several years before the launch campaign with close cooperation and coordination between Arianespace, ArianeGroup, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This paper describes their specificities and addresses the challenges experienced to achieve the successful mission preparation.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Marco Calcabrini, Alan C. Abeel, Amelia Simon, Eve M. Wooldridge, and Bruno Erin "Clean air shower curtain for protection of contamination sensitive telescopes on the Ariane 5 launcher", Proc. SPIE 12224, Space Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2022, 122240H (3 October 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2638493

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