NASA James Webb Telescope: NIRSpec instrument installed into the heart

In this photo, engineers install the NIRSpec instrument in the heart (or ISIM) of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWT). 

Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

The last piece of the James Webb Space Telescope's heart was installed inside the world's largest clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.


What looked like a massive black frame covered with wires and aluminum foil, the heart or Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) now contains all four of Webb's science instruments.

Together, these instruments will help unlock the history of our universe, from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of stellar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own solar system.

Teams of engineers recently navigated very cramped spaces with delicate materials and finished surgically implanting the last of the four instruments that will fly on the Webb telescope – the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec).

Weighing about as much as an upright piano (about 430 pounds, or 196 kilograms), the NIRSpec was suspended from a moveable counterweight called the Horizontal Integration Tool (HIT).


From below, the engineering team was tasked with painstakingly moving this vital instrument to its final position inside the large black composite frame, officially called the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).

As the team maneuvered this crucial instrument through very tight, hard to reach spaces inside the Webb telescope's heart, they ensured there was no unintentional contact with the frame because the instrument's materials are very stiff but brittle.

Disturbing any of those materials could have caused major setbacks that could damage NIRSpec.

"Part of the challenge is that this instrument cannot be installed in a straight linear move. In order to avoid interference with already installed systems, the instrument will have to follow a special pattern kind of like a dance," said Maurice te Plate, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Webb system integration and test manager at Goddard.

"During the crucial phases of the installation, the room is kept very silent because whenever there is a potential issue one of the engineers must hold the process until everything is checked out so they can proceed."

Engineers needed NIRSpec's six individual feet or legs to align with six designated "saddle" points on the ISIM within the width of a little more than that of a human hair.

To hit their marks, these engineers had rehearsed these complicated movements, performing simulations and precise calculations on both sides of the ocean.

NASA Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig

Image Credit: NASA/Bridget R. Caswell

The Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at NASA's Glenn Research Center, is being tested to determine the acoustic impact of engine configurations on low sonic boom aircraft for the High Speed Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program.

The High Speed Project is a multi-center effort to develop and test the technologies of a new generation of aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds. 

Glenn's research involves predicting the airport noise of these novel aircraft by examining innovative airframes and propulsion integration that are different from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft observed at commercial airports.

Inside the aeroacoustic dome, this generic, low-fidelity aircraft engine exhaust model features twin rectangular nozzles. 

Researchers are investigating the impact of having the propulsive exhaust come from the slot nozzles atop the aircraft. 

Testing the proposed components of these high- speed aircraft will help manufacturers meet the noise standards required around the nation's airports.

ESA Cupola Installed on Node 3: Tranquility on ISS

Outside Looking in
NASA astronaut Robert Behnken, STS-130 mission specialist, participates in the mission's second session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station.

More Cupola pics here - Click!

During the five-hour, 54-minute spacewalk, Behnken and astronaut Nicholas Patrick (out of frame), mission specialist, connected two ammonia coolant loops, installed thermal covers around the ammonia hoses, outfitted the Earth-facing port on the Node-3 for the relocation of its Cupola, and installed handrails and a vent valve on the new module. (NASA image S130-E-007858, 14 February 2010)

The biggest window ever launched to space has been installed in its final position on the Earth-facing port of Node-3. The latches and 16 electrically driven bolts were engaged today at 07:31 CET (06:31 GMT). Opening of the window shutters is foreseen for Wednesday.

During the launch of Endeavour the Cupola was attached to Node-3’s end cone docking port, After installing Node-3 on Friday and preparing Cupola for relocation, Cupola was this morning released and manoeuvred to the Node-3’s Earth-facing port where it was reberthed.

Electrical and water lines are now being connected between Node-3 and Cupola, and the Cupola’s window heaters are being activated. Activities related to making Node-3 fully functional also continue.