James Webb Space Telescope backplane arrives at Marshall for testing
Saturday, August 24, 2013 - 04:32
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) —A major piece of the James Webb Space Telescope, the mirror's primary backplane support, arrived Aug. 22 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for testing in the X-ray and Cryogenic Test Facility. The backplane is the backbone of the telescope, supporting its 18 beryllium mirrors, instruments and other elements while the telescope is looking into deep space.