Hubble Replacement Ready For Close-Up

[Kor37 9]

Hubble Replacement Ready for Close-Up

 

 

WASHINGTON (MAY 14) -- Amid a collection of Coast Guard boats, Army helicopters and an inflatable space shuttle, a curious mock-up of coming technology was unfurled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., last week. Surrounded by these other symbols of "Public Service Recognition Week 2007," NASA's scientific next great thing, the James Webb Space Telescope, took its place in life-size model form outside the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

 

The successor to the Hubble Telescope, planned for a 2013 launch, the Webb telescope won't look a lot like other telescopes. Its primary mirror, 21 feet across, open to space and insect-like, will consist of segments, 18 in all, which will assemble automatically into place in orbit. Underneath the massive mirror will be a "sunshield," roughly the size of a tennis court, five layers thick, designed to keep the telescope permanently in the shade, where it will cool to -370 degrees Fahrenheit. The sunshield will similarly deploy in orbit, unfolding after the mirror assembles itself.

 

An independent expert review earlier this month gave the green light to the new-fangled technologies planned for the telescope, a year ahead of schedule. The group evaluated the telescope's light detectors, sunshield materials, mirrors, cryogenic cooling and control technologies. "They determined the technologies were tested successfully in a space-like environment and are mature enough to include on the telescope's upcoming mission," said NASA in a prepared statement.

 

A lot is riding on the telescope, which will park in an orbit 940,000 miles away from Earth, a nice quiet spot from which to see stars, planets and galaxies 400 times fainter than anything viewable from Earth. Not only is the Hubble telescope in bad shape, although a 2008 shuttle rescue mission is still in the offing, but NASA's Spitzer space telescope, which sees in the infrared regime envisioned for Webb, is running out of cryogenic coolant. Infrared telescopes need to be kept very cool to see the heat, i.e. infrared radiation, from distant objects.

 

The Webb telescope was the chief priority listed in the National Research Council's survey of astronomy priorities released in 2000. A decision two years ago to slip back the launch date of the Webb telescope from 2011 to 2013 triggered a lot of unhappiness among astronomers already displeased with NASA's initial decision not to repair the Hubble telescope (since rescinded) after the 2003 destruction of the space shuttle Columbia that killed seven astronauts. The head of the NRC panel told Congress in testimony two years ago that if it came down to a choice between fixing Hubble and keeping the Webb telescope, he'd go with the new spacecraft.

 

The telescope aims to eyeball the earliest galaxies in the universe, from an era perhaps 12 billion years ago, study the dust discs around young stars that give rise to planets and eyeball the atmospheres of gas giant planets orbiting nearby stars.

 

So, the current success of the Webb telescope in meeting its goals is a good sign, says Ed Weiler, director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, who spoke Thursday at a briefing in front of the model on the mall. Weiler said the telescope will include a docking ring for emergency repairs by astronauts of "something that had gone very badly," although regular repairs are not anticipated for the spacecraft. "We are trying to learn the lessons of Hubble."

 

Of course, as is so often the case in the space business, the telescope's daring technologies - flexible structures - are not completely untried. "Other agencies have pioneered some of these advances," Weiler says. "They are basically a gift from our friends at the defense agencies," he says.

 

That may be another lesson from Hubble, which famously borrowed parts of its its design from spy telescopes, according to Globalsecurity.org. "That's a fair comparison," Weiler says, with a laugh. "You'll have to read Tom Clancy to learn anything else."

 

Each week, USA TODAY's Dan Vergano combs scholarly journals to present the Science Snapshot, a brief summary of some of the latest findings in scientific research. For past articles, visit this index page.

 

 

 

 

Nice to know they have a replacement for the Hubble!..

[trekz 7]

It is good that a Hubble replacement is planned. However...

 

The successor to the Hubble Telescope, planned for a 2013 launch, the Webb telescope won't look a lot like other telescopes. Its primary mirror, 21 feet across, open to space and insect-like, will consist of segments, 18 in all, which will assemble automatically into place in orbit. Underneath the massive mirror will be a "sunshield," roughly the size of a tennis court, five layers thick, designed to keep the telescope permanently in the shade, where it will cool to -370 degrees Fahrenheit. The sunshield will similarly deploy in orbit, unfolding after the mirror assembles itself.

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Three concerns: One, at least this doesn't sound too complicated, with things tht could go wrong.

 

Two: Four words: Some automatic assembly required!

 

Three: Is this some kind of Spiderman tie-in: a "Webb" telescope :P