ManTech International Corporation announced on Thursday that the manufacturing and shape testing of its NeXolve subsidiary's Sunshield system is complete. The Sunshield is for use on NASA's largest science mission, the James Webb Space Telescope, according to information presented at the American Astronomical Society (and released by Nasdaq's Globe Newswire).
The sunshield is made of Kapton (a registered mark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, according to the press release). Kapton is a very thin plastic with a reflective metallic coating that gives the telescope an astounding SPF of one million.
"Our team of engineers and technicians has worked diligently to complete the design and manufacture of this first layer," said Greg Laue, ManTech's sunshield program manager. "Completion of this layer's shape testing is the culmination of years of development and manufacturing."
"We are extremely pleased with the results from the first flight layer. Its results met all our expectations," said Joshua Johnson, ManTech's lead test engineer. "We are now proceeding with the remaining layers and will test each layer in a similar manner over the course of the next year."
When all five layers of the Sunshield pass testing, they will be shipped off to Northrop Grumman's Space Park facility in Redondo Beach, Calif., where they will get the final test before the 2018 launch.
