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 MIRI Installation on Webb Telescope - Time-lapse Video

This video shows a time-lapse of the install of the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The actual installation took about four hours.

The four science instruments that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have to be surgically installed for precision and accuracy.

NASA has just released a time-lapse video showing how clean room engineers installed one of those instruments into a large component of the JWST.

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., May 28, 2012, and has undergone inspection and testing.

Recently, it was integrated into Webb's science instrument payload known as the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).

The ISIM will house the Webb's four main instruments.

The time-lapse video covers a period of four hours and was filmed in the largest clean room at Goddard, where all four of the Webb telescope's instruments and mirrors currently reside.

Viewers of the video will see engineers in clean room suits installing the MIRI over time.

"Actual total time to install the MIRI was just over four hours," said Jason Hylan, lead mechanical systems, mechanical integration and test, and opto-mechanical engineer for the ISIM at Goddard.

"The MIRI had to be positioned to a tolerance of 25 microns, or one one-thousandth of an inch, which is less than the width of a human hair."

MIRI will allow scientists to study cold and distant objects in greater detail than ever before.

MIRI will observe light with wavelengths in the mid-infrared range of 5 microns to 28 microns, which are longer wavelengths than human eyes can detect and even beyond the 0.6 micron to 5 micron wavelength range of Webb's other three instruments.

MIRI's capabilities will allow it to observe older, cooler stars in very distant galaxies, unveil newly forming stars within our Milky Way, find signatures of the formation of planets around stars other than our own, and record images and spectra of planets, comets and the outermost bits of debris in our solar system.

MIRI's mid-infrared coverage will complement the near-infrared capabilities of the other instruments, including observations of the most distant objects to help determine whether or not they are among the first ones that formed in the universe.

James Webb Telescope Test the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)

Dressed in a clean room suit, NASA photographer Desiree Stover shines a light on the Space Environment Simulator's Integration Frame inside the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. 

Shortly after, the chamber was closed up and engineers used this frame to enclose and help cryogenic (cold) test the heart of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).

NASA completes first part of Webb Telescope's MIRI Instrument

Much like the inside of an operating room, in the clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, engineers worked meticulously to implant part of the eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope.

They scrubbed up and suited up to perform one of the most delicate performances of their lives. 

That part of the eyes, the MIRI, or Mid-Infrared Instrument, will glimpse the formation of galaxies and see deeper into the universe than ever before. 

Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

Much like the inside of an operating room, in the clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., engineers worked meticulously to implant part of the eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope.



They scrubbed up and suited up to perform one of the most delicate performances of their lives. That part of the eyes, the MIRI, or Mid-Infrared Instrument, will glimpse the formation of galaxies and see deeper into the universe than ever before.

It's high-stakes surgery that has taken years of preparation. This science instrument must fit precisely into the ISIM, or Integrated Science Instrument Module (the black frame on the right to which they install the MIRI), so that it is installed exactly where it needs to be within the width of a thin human hair.



This intricate process involves a tremendous amount of work from the engineering team to make sure the instrument is settled and installed just right.

The MIRI itself weighs 181 pounds (82 kg) and is being held by a crane (on the left of the photo), which is being maneuvered by the engineer at the base of the ladder.

Each engineer has a role in the process that must be done as delicately as possible so as not to disturb anything, said Jason Hylan, the engineer responsible for the operation from start to finish.

Disturbing MIRI would cost the mission the critical science that will help shape our knowledge of the universe, and push the boundaries of scientific discoveries.

For that reason, precise engineering is key and that can put some of the engineers in awkward positions, literally.

"Because we are trying to put so much stuff into such a small space, we always run into problems related to access," Hylan said. "This is somewhat akin to working on a car under the hood – some things are easy to get to because they are on the outside of where you are working."

"Other parts are buried and are very difficult to get to. Much of what we have to integrate is on the 'inside' and so access is very difficult. "

"During the operation, we need to access multiple things at the same time and one person may only be able to access one area, so we need multiple people all around doing the same thing at the same time. It is a very coordinated operation."

Hylan said that, like watching the new World Trade Center being built in New York right now, the process is tedious, but the end result is something significant that will leave its mark on a generation.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built and 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 NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Second Flight Instrument Delivered for James Webb Space Telescope

The second of four main instruments to fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) has been delivered to NASA.

The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) will enable the telescope to accurately and precisely point at the correct, intended objects for it to observe.

The FGS is packaged together as a single unit with the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) science instrument.

FGS/NIRISS arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., July 30. It has been undergoing inspection before post-delivery testing and then integration into Webb's science instrument payload known as the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).

"This is an exciting event," said Scott Lambros, Webb telescope Instrument Systems Manager at NASA Goddard.

"The FGS instrument is part of the integrated control system that performs the extremely fine pointing and stability needed for the observatory; while the NIRISS instrument will provide great science and new discovery space.

This milestone is the culmination of many years of hard work by our Canadian partners. We have had great cooperation between the FGS team and the Webb telescope team and look forward to continued cooperation integrating the instrument into the ISIM and observatory."

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) developed the Webb's Fine Guidance Sensor and the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph.

The FGS will direct the telescope precisely, allowing it to study stars and planets forming in other stellar systems.

Both were designed, built and tested by COM DEV International in Ottawa and Cambridge, Ontario, Canada with technical contributions from the University of Montreal and the National Research Council Canada, and scientific guidance of the FGS science team.

"Imagine the challenge at hand here: design and deliver technology capable of unprecedented levels of precision to conduct breakthrough science on board the largest, most complex and most powerful telescope ever built," said Steve MacLean, President of the CSA, Longueil, Quebec, Canada.

The FGS consists of two identical cameras that are critical to Webb's ability to "see." Their images will allow the telescope to determine its position, locate its celestial targets, and remain pointed to collect high-quality data.

The FGS will guide the telescope with incredible precision, with an accuracy of one millionth of a degree of angle.

Although the NIRISS is packaged with the FGS, it is functionally independent. NIRISS provides unique capabilities that will aid in finding the earliest and most distant objects in the universe's history.

It will also peer through the glare of nearby young stars to unveil new Jupiter-like exoplanets. It will have the capability of detecting the thin atmosphere of small, habitable, Earth-like planets and determine its chemical composition to seek water vapour, carbon dioxide and other potential biomarkers such as methane and oxygen.