The James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently being developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is almost complete, with the ninth flight mirror reportedly just installed onto the device with a robotic arm. The installation marks the halfway point to the completion of the telescope's segmented primary mirror.
The James Webb Space Telescope will possess a total of 18 mirror segments in its structure when the final product is complete, and NASA's team has been tirelessly working to complete the installation, which is expected to be complete in early 2016.
"The years of planning and practicing is really paying dividends and the progress is really rewarding for everyone to see," Lee Feinberg, NASA's optical telescope element manager, said in a press release.
The James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors were developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. located in Boulder, Colo. The company is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system that will be utilized by the telescope. However, the installation of the mirrors onto the telescope's massive structure is being conducted by Harris Corporation of Rochester, N.Y., which is heading the integration and testing for the telescope.
As the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the most powerful space telescope ever built and is an international project that is being led by a combination of partners including NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.
