[meteorite-list] James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

[Ron Baalke]

January 24, 2014

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington at nasa.gov 

Lynn Chandler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2806
lynn.chandler-1 at nasa.gov
     
RELEASE 14-026
     
James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has passed its first significant mission  
milestone for 2014 -- a Spacecraft Critical Design Review (SCDR) that  
examined the telescope's power, communications and pointing control systems.

"This is the last major element-level critical design review of the program,"  
said Richard Lynch, NASA Spacecraft Bus Manager for the James Webb Space  
Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "What that  
means is all of the designs are complete for the Webb and there are no major  
designs left to do."

During the SCDR, the details, designs, construction and testing plans, and  
the spacecraft's operating procedures were subjected to rigorous review by an  
independent panel of experts. The week-long review involved extensive  
discussions on all aspects of the spacecraft to ensure the plans to finish  
construction would result in a vehicle that enables the powerful telescope  
and science instruments to deliver their unique and invaluable views of the  
universe.

"While the spacecraft that carries the science payload for Webb may not be as  
glamorous as the telescope, it's the heart that enables the whole mission,"  
said Eric Smith, acting program director and program scientist for the Webb  
Telescope at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By providing many services  
including telescope pointing and communication with Earth, the spacecraft is  
our high tech infrastructure empowering scientific discovery."

Goddard Space Flight Center manages the mission. Northrop Grumman in Redondo  
Beach, Calif., leads the design and development effort.

"Our Northrop Grumman team has worked exceptionally hard to meet this  
critical milestone on an accelerated schedule, following the replan," said  
Scott Willoughby, Northrop Grumman vice president and James Webb Space  
Telescope program manager in Redondo Beach, Calif. "This is a huge step  
forward in our progress toward completion of the Webb Telescope."

The James Webb Space Telescope, successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope,  
will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. It will observe the  
most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies  
formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is  
a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space  
Agency.

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit:

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov 

and

http://www.nasa.gov/webb 

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