Tag: James Webb Space Telescope

AIR Receives Pre-Orders for Over 50 eVTOLs

Aviation Today interviews Avionics International CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut on the company’s “approach to designing its personal aerial vehicle and achieving FAA certification by the end of 2023.” AIR has already “received pre-orders for over 50 units” of its AIR ONE eVTOL.
Full Story (Aviation Today)

James Webb Space Telescope Deploys ADIR

SPACE reports that the James Webb Space Telescope deployed its Aft Deployable Instrument Radiator (ADIR) Thursday at about 8:38 a.m. EST. The ADIR “is a 4 foot (1.2 meters) by 8 foot (2.4 m) panel attached to the back of the observatory and connected by aluminum foil straps to Webb’s instruments. The radiator is covered in honeycomb cells with an ultra-black surface, allowing the mechanism to pull heat away from the observatory instruments and send it into space.”
Full Story (SPACE)

AIAA Statement on Successful Launch of James Webb Space Telescope

For Immediate Release

December 25, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:

“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the entire James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team on today’s successful launch. This amazing observatory will allow us to look into the history of our cosmos. We look forward to the new discoveries from JWST that will help us understand the origins of the universe.

Countless AIAA professional members have dedicated years of their careers to the research, engineering, testing, and development of this incredible astronomy mission. In addition, numerous academic and industry partners on the JWST team are AIAA corporate members who contributed mightily to this mission. Applying their technical expertise with determination and perseverance since 1996 has led us to this exciting day. Over the years, they have chronicled their work on JWST by authoring articles for AIAA journals and meeting papers for AIAA forums. These original research results and technological progress on JWST have been published in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central, at arc.aiaa.org, to fulfill our commitment to ensuring students and professionals can stay current on the most important advances in aerospace science and technology. Through the combined efforts of AIAA members on the JWST mission, they are shaping the future of aerospace.”

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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James Webb Space Telescope to Launch December 22

SPACE reports that mission team members “have finished fueling the James Webb Space Telescope at ahead of its planned Dec. 22 launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, the European Space Agency announced Monday.” The fueling for the Webb telescope “took 10 days and was completed on Dec. 3.”
Full Story (SPACE)

James Webb Space Telescope Launch Delayed to December

SPACE reports that NASA and ESA have pushed the launch date of the James Webb Space Telescope back to December 18. The James Webb Space Telescope has not yet shipped to the ESA launch site at Kourou, French Guiana, and will require about 10 weeks turnaround time from its shipping date.
Full Story (SPACE)

James Webb Telescope Completes Three Pre-Launch Milestones

SlashGear reports that the James Webb Space Telescope “has hit three new significant milestones, as NASA prepares to launch the powerful instrument later this year.” The tower assembly on the telescope “was recently deployed to its full, 10 meter (33 feet) length, before being stowed” in the telescope. The “‘lens cap’ of the telescope – officially known as the AOS, or Aft Optics Subsystem, cover – has been removed. It was left in place as Webb was assembled, but has been taken off so as to allow the telescope to be folded up.” Additionally, the NASA team “has now folded the Unitized Pallet Structure – on which the sunscreen rests – up into their final launch configuration.”
Full Story (SlashGear)

NASA Unfolds James Webb Space Telescope’s Primary Mirror for Last Time Before October 31 Launch

SPACE reports that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope “has unfurled its big golden mirror for the final time on Earth ahead of its planned launch later this year.” The $9.8 billion space telescope “opened its 21.3-foot-wide (6.5 meters) primary mirror recently during a test at the Los Angeles-area facilities of its main builder, the aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.” The mirror, “which is composed of 18 hexagonal segments, is too wide to fit inside the payload fairing of any currently operational rocket, so it will launch in a compact configuration and deploy after reaching space. The ongoing test is the last major trial for the mirror system, and its completion will mark a big milestone on the path to launch, mission team members said.” The James Webb Space Telescope “is scheduled to lift off atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket on Oct. 31 from Kourou, French Guiana.”
Full Story (Reuters)