Author: World Spaceflight News
Publisher:
Published: 2017-10-02
Total Pages: 198
ISBN-13: 9781549878213
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), currently under construction and planned for launch sometime near 2018, is provided in this unique compilation of official NASA material. There is complete data on the JWST mission, science investigations, instruments and subsystems, unique mirror technology, the L2 orbit, special gyros, sunshield, infrared astronomy science to be obtained by the JWST, plus in-depth coverage of the funding controversy regarding the large cost overruns and schedule delays encountered by the project - with testimony from Congressional hearings, GAO reports, and the report of the Independent Comprehensive Review Panel (ICRP) along with NASA's response. Contents: PART 1 - JWST Basic Information: Spacecraft And Science Data, Project Status Updates; PART 2 - GAO Reports On JWST; PART 3 - Independent Comprehensive Review Panel (ICRP) Final Report; PART 4 - December 2011 Congressional Hearings on JWST. Dr. Roger Blandford noted in his testimony: JWST (formerly known as Next Generation Space Telescope) is a 6.5 meter diameter telescope. It is much larger than the Hubble Space Telescope (HST-2.4 meter diameter) and unlike HST, it will observe the universe from near the "second Lagrange Point", roughly four times as far away from the Earth as the moon but along the opposite direction to the sun. It will be protected from the sun by an elaborate sunshield. JWST is an engineering marvel and its 18 beryllium mirrors will be furled up within a rocket for launch and then deployed at its destination. This operation has to work perfectly as there will be no means of servicing it after launch. The principal scientific goals of JWST are bold and exciting and a culmination of nearly fifty years of extraordinary discovery about the universe and our place in it. They are: - to observe the very first stars, galaxies and black holes which formed at a time when the universe was about four percent of its present age - to discover how stars and planets actually form today within our Galaxy - to study planets orbiting nearby cool stars and assess their habitability However, JWST will also operate as an astronomical observatory and many, and perhaps most, areas of astronomy will be transformed by JWST in much the same way as they have been revolutionized by HST. JWST is specialized to observe in the infrared region of the spectrum. This is relevant because, although much light emitted by the most distant galaxies is in the optical and ultraviolet spectral bands, the wavelengths of this light are stretched roughly tenfold through the expansion of the universe into the infrared band, as we push out to greater distance and earlier times. There is a second reason why it is preferred to observe in the infrared and this is that the star-forming regions that will be intensively studied by JWST are filled with tiny grains of dust. These dust grains absorb and scatter optical and ultraviolet light but leave infrared radiation alone, enabling us to see deep inside them at these wavelengths. In addition, the light that is absorbed by dust will be re-emitted at infrared wavelengths and we can also observe the dust itself as a tell-tale tracer of star formation. As well as being the natural successor of HST, JWST is the infrared successor of the much smaller (0.85 meter diameter) Spitzer Space Telescope, with over 50 times the light-gathering ability and 40 times the resolution as well as the Herschel telescope, led by the European Space Agency, which only observes at longer infrared wavelengths than JWST. Given this huge increase in performance over and complementarity to previous telescopes, JWST promises to be a scientific "game changer".
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2018-01-29
Total Pages: 127
ISBN-13: 0309463831
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) currently operates over five dozen missions, with approximately two dozen additional missions in development. These missions span the scientific fields associated with SMD's four divisionsâ€"Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Sciences. Because a single mission can consist of multiple spacecraft, NASA-SMD is responsible for nearly 100 operational spacecraft. The most high profile of these are the large strategic missions, often referred to as "flagships." Large strategic missions are essential to maintaining the global leadership of the United States in space exploration and in science because only the United States has the budget, technology, and trained personnel in multiple scientific fields to conduct missions that attract a range of international partners. This report examines the role of large, strategic missions within a balanced program across NASA-SMD space and Earth sciences programs. It considers the role and scientific productivity of such missions in advancing science, technology and the long-term health of the field, and provides guidance that NASA can use to help set the priority of larger missions within a properly balanced program containing a range of mission classes.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Publisher:
Published: 2013
Total Pages: 1180
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Publisher:
Published: 2018-06-28
Total Pages: 194
ISBN-13: 9781983295010
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This report, released by NASA in late June 2018, provides the results of a vital independent review board report on the status of the troubled James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project. The results were quite dramatic: the launch date for the telescope has been delayed to March 2021, and the cost of the project is now estimated to have risen nearly $1 billion. The report notes that delays and overruns can be attributed to a number of factors, including human mistakes during integration and testing, and embedded problems. Summary and Conclusion - JWST is an observatory with incredible capability, awesome scientific potential and significant complexity, risk and first-time events. OTIS Integration and Test (l&T) is complete and has demonstrated the exceptional science capability of the system. Significant launch date delays and resulting cost caused by human errors, embedded problems, excessive optimism in l&T planning, lack of sunshield experience and system complexity have occurred. Small l&T problems can have a major impact upon schedule and cost. JWST inherent risk requires mission success be the highest priority in completing JWST development. The Webb IRB believes that implementing all recommendations contained in this report will contribute to maximizing the probability of mission success. Eliminating the schedule and cost impact of human errors and embedded problems is critical to completing the successful development of JWST. The Webb IRB believes that JWST should continue based on its extraordinary scientific potential and critical role in maintaining U.S. leadership in astronomy and astrophysics. This report contains numerous recommendations all directed toward contributing to the maximization of JWST mission success. The Webb IRB strongly recommends that all the recommendations be implemented. Webb's world-class science, from detecting light from the first stars and galaxies in the distant universe to probing the atmospheres in nearby exoplanets for possible signs of habitability will underpin many other astrophysics projects that will use its high-caliber capabilities to enhance their science return.
Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Published:
Total Pages: 104
ISBN-13: 1437982573
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Subcommittee on Science and Space
Publisher:
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 96
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2015-10-28
Total Pages: 222
ISBN-13: 0309377382
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The National Research Council has conducted 11 decadal surveys in the Earth and space sciences since 1964 and released the latest four surveys in the past 8 years. The decadal surveys are notable in their ability to sample thoroughly the research interest, aspirations, and needs of a scientific community. Through a rigorous process, a primary survey committee and thematic panels of community members construct a prioritized program of science goals and objectives and define an executable strategy for achieving them. These reports play a critical role in defining the nation's agenda in that science area for the following 10 years, and often beyond. The Space Science Decadal Surveys considers the lessons learned from previous surveys and presents options for possible changes and improvements to the process, including the statement of task, advanced preparation, organization, and execution. This report discusses valuable aspects of decadal surveys that could taken further, as well as some challenges future surveys are likely to face in searching for the richest areas of scientific endeavor, seeking community consensus of where to go next, and planning how to get there. The Space Science Decadal Surveys describes aspects in the decadal survey prioritization process, including balance in the science program and across the discipline; balance between the needs of current researchers and the development of the future workforce; and balance in mission scale - smaller, competed programs versus large strategic missions.