Hexagonal beryllium mirrors developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. are being subjected to “the big chill” as the optics for the James Webb Space Telescope are tested for space conditions.
The testing at the Marshall Space Flight Center is in the facility’s X-ray and cryogenic facility in Huntsville, Ala.
Six of the 18 mirror segments that make up the space telescope’s optics will be tested around the clock for eight weeks. Ball will deliver the second set of six mirror segments in July and the final six in the fall. The first mirror segment recently passed vibration and acoustic tests at Northrop Grumman Aerospace System’s facility in Redondo Beach, Calif.
The telescope, which would seek life in space and clues about the early universe, probably won’t launch until 2018 instead of 2014. Ann Schrader, The Denver Post
