The Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA) for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope was delivered to Northrop Grumman's Space Park facilities in Redondo Beach, California for integration and testing. The DTA interfaces and supports the spacecraft and the telescope structures.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is made up of four major components — the telescope, the integrated science instrument module, the sunshield and the spacecraft. The DTA interfaces and supports the spacecraft and the telescope structures, and serves two key functions on Webb.
"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 Ken Aiello, Astro Aerospace cost account manager for Webb and program manager of the DTA.
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 Scott Texter, Webb optical telescope element manager, Northrop Grumman.
Credit: Northrop Grumman
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Tags: jwst webb james webb space telescope telescope nasa hubble hubble's successor space
Building a space telescope to see the light from the earliest stars of our universe is a pretty complex task. Although much of the attention goes to instruments and the giant mirrors on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, there are other components that have big jobs to do and that required imagination, engineering, and innovation to become a reality.
For example, engineers working on the Webb telescope have to think of everything from keeping instruments from overheating or freezing, to packing up the Webb, which is as big as a tennis court, to fit inside the rocket that will take it to space. Those are two areas where the "DTA" or Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA) plays a major role.
The DTA looks like a big black pipe and is made out of graphite-epoxy composite material to ensure stability and strength with extreme changes in temperature like those encountered in space. When fully deployed, the DTA reaches ten feet in length.
The DTA interfaces and supports the spacecraft and the telescope structures. It features two large nested telescoping tubes, connected by a mechanized lead screw. It is a deployable structure that is both very light and extremely strong and stable.
The Webb telescope’s secondary mirror support structure and DTA contribute to how the telescope and instruments fit into the rocket fairing in preparation for launch. The DTA allows the Webb to be short enough when stowed to fit in the rocket fairing with an acceptably low center of gravity for launch.
Several days after the Webb telescope is launched, the DTA will deploy, or separate, the telescope mirrors and instruments from the spacecraft bus and sunshield. This separation allows the sunshield to unfurl and shade the telescope and instruments from radiant heat and stray light from the sun and Earth.
The DTA was designed, built and tested by Astro Aerospace - a Northrop Grumman Company, in Carpinteria, California.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/the-secrets-of-nasas-webb-te...
Image credit: Northrop Grumman Corp. Text Credit: Rob Gutro
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A big beautiful sight! Here's the "bones" of the James Webb Space Telescope - upright, making it easy to imagine it with mirrors in space...
Here the telescope structure is facing away from us, with its side "wings" (which will also have mirrors on them) folded. The mirrors go on the side facing away, and the instruments in back of them. The secondary mirror boom is folded on top.
The person is standing right next to the Deployable Tower Assembly, which is is designed to raise the JWST telescope structure off the spacecraft bus after launch.
Image Credit: Maggie Masetti
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Partially deployed deployable tower assembly (DTA) and its cable tray. The tower is designed to raise the JWST telescope structure off the spacecraft bus after launch. Read more about the DTA: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/the-secrets-of-nasas-webb-te...
Image credit: Northrop Grumman
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Tags: jwst webb james webb space telescope telescope nasa hubble hubble's successor space
To test the James Webb Space Telescope’s readiness for its journey in space, technicians successfully commanded it to deploy and extend a critical part of the observatory known as the Deployable Tower Assembly.
The primary purpose of the deployable tower is to create a large gap between the upper part of the observatory that houses its iconic gold mirrors and scientific instruments, and the lower section known as the spacecraft bus which holds its comparatively warm electronics and propulsion systems. By creating a space between the two, it allows for Webb’s active and passive cooling systems to bring its mirrors and sensors down to staggeringly cold temperatures required to perform optimal science.
Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/tower-extension-test-a-...
Image: Shown fully stowed, the James Webb Space Telescope’s Deployable Tower Assembly that connects the upper and lower sections of the spacecraft will extend 48 inches (1.2 meters) after launch.
Credits: Northrop Grumman
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