Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has delivered Wavefront Sensing & Control (WFS&C) software for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to prime contractor Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. The WFS&C software contains the sophisticated mathematical algorithms that will be used to align and phase the telescope’s eighteen 1.3 meter hexagonal primary mirror segments to perform as a single monolithic mirror. From the outset of the JWST program, WFS&C was identified as a key new technology. Due to its size, the Webb telescope must be launched in a stowed configuration and aligned on orbit. This design feature has contributed to the critical accuracy required of WFS&C software, which was rigorously tested using Ball’s fully functional, one-sixth scale Webb Telescope Testbed as well as detailed computer simulations of the future observatory.
Work @ Ball Aerospace on the JWST, photo courtesy of the Company
The WFS&C software package is designed to provide vital flexibility in control of the telescope optics to optimize system performance on orbit, even in the presence of unforeseen problems. In addition to co-phasing the individual segments to operate as a single mirror, the software allows the primary mirror segments and the secondary mirror to be adjusted from the ground, to compensate for optical distortions that may occur in the observatory throughout the life of the mission.
On September 13, 2011, NASA announced the completion of the mirror coating process at Quantum Coating Inc., in Moorestown, N.J., marking yet another major milestone in development of the Webb Telescope. Ball Aerospace is the principal optical subcontractor for the JWST program, led by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Space Technology, under a contract from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, MD. Delivery of the advanced software marks the culmination of a decade-long effort.