Northrop Grumman's Astro Aerospace Delivers James Webb Space Telescope Deployable Tower Assembly
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"First, in the stowed configuration, the DTA allows the telescope and instruments to fit into the rocket fairing with an acceptable center of gravity for launch. Second, in the deployed configuration, it will lift the telescope mirrors and instruments away from the heat of the main spacecraft. This allows the sunshield to unfurl, reducing the amount of radiant heat the instruments are exposed to on orbit," said
Webb's DTA features two large diameter telescoping tubes, separated by a mechanized lead screw. The majority of the DTA is constructed of graphite components to ensure stability and strength with extreme changes in cryogenic temperature. When fully deployed, the DTA reaches ten feet in length.
"The Astro DTA team expertly completed this complex project, which required a deployable structure that is both very light and extremely strong and stable," said
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's next-generation space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The most powerful space telescope ever built, the Webb Telescope 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
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