The Amazing Anatomy of James Webb Space Telescope Mirrors

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When you think of a mirror, there really isn’t that much needed to describe it, but when you look at a mirror that will fly aboard NASA’s next-generation James Webb Space Telescope, there’s a lot to the anatomy of a mirror.

NASA’s Webb telescope includes a primary, secondary and tertiary mirror. Although the relatively small secondary and tertiary mirrors are unique, it’s the expansive primary mirror that has the most complicated anatomy with a number of components operating together to make the telescope work.

The mirrors were built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system. Ball Aerospace also developed the secondary mirror, tertiary mirror and fine-steering mirror.

The raw power of any telescope is determined by the size of its main optic – the bigger the first or “primary” optic, the better-and in the case of large telescopes, the optic is a mirror. Webb’s primary mirror measures 6.5 meters (21 feet, 4 inches) across, and although that’s respectable by ground-based telescope standards, it is absolutely huge for a space telescope.

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Published at Fri, 21 MAR 2014 15:12:39 AEST