Optical verification of the James Webb Space Telescope

Brian McComas; Rich Rifelli; Allison Barto; Adam Contos; Tony Whitman; Conrad Wells; John Hagopian

doi:10.1117/12.672448

22 June 2006 Optical verification of the James Webb Space Telescope

Brian McComas, Rich Rifelli, Allison Barto, Adam Contos, Tony Whitman, Conrad Wells, John Hagopian

Proceedings Volume 6271, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy II; 62710A (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672448
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2006, Orlando, Florida , United States

Abstract

The optical system of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is split between two of the Observatory's element, the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) and the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM). The OTE optical design consists of an 18-hexagonal segmented primary mirror (25m² clear aperture), a secondary mirror, a tertiary mirror, and a flat fine steering mirror used for fine guidance control. All optical components are made of beryllium. The primary and secondary mirror elements have hexapod actuation that provides six degrees of freedom rigid body adjustment. The optical components are mounted to a very stable truss structure made of composite materials. The OTE structure also supports the ISIM. The ISIM contains the Science Instruments (SIs) and Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) needed for acquiring mission science data and for Observatory pointing and control and provides mechanical support for the SIs and FGS. The optical performance of the telescope is a key performance metric for the success of JWST. To ensure proper performance, the JWST optical verification program is a comprehensive, incremental, end-to-end verification program which includes multiple, independent, cross checks of key optical performance metrics to reduce risk of an on-orbit telescope performance issues. This paper discusses the verification testing and analysis necessary to verify the Observatory's image quality and sensitivity requirements. This verification starts with component level verification and ends with the Observatory level verification at Johnson Space Flight Center. The optical verification of JWST is a comprehensive, incremental, end-to-end optical verification program which includes both test and analysis.

Citation Download Citation

Brian McComas, Rich Rifelli, Allison Barto, Adam Contos, Tony Whitman, Conrad Wells, and John Hagopian "Optical verification of the James Webb Space Telescope", Proc. SPIE 6271, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy II, 62710A (22 June 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672448

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