14 DAY TRIAL // The primary mirrors on the NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) contain 18 hexagonal parts, which are oriented in respect to each other by individual actuators located underneath. All of them are attached to a hardware component called a tower, which was recently completed by engineers.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation is the main contractor on the JWST project. The Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA) was designed by Astro Aerospace, its business unit. The materials and individual components were provided by subcontractor ATK.
“ATK's completion of the deployable tower assembly composite components marks another flight hardware milestone in the fabrication of one of the most significant structures that supports the telescope's optical train," Northrop Webb Optical Telescope Element manager, Scott Texter, says.
NASA is developing JWST as a successor to the iconic Hubble Space, which recently turned 22. The new observatory will be able to peer farther back in space than any other instrument ever could, right up to the point when the first stars were formed.