Status of the JWST Optical Telescope Element

摘要

Significant progress has been made in the development of the Optical Telescope Element (OTE), one of three elements of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Observatory. To achieve the 25 square meters of collecting area, JWST will employ the first segmented, deployed optical telescope, requiring a wavefront sensing and control (WFS&C) system to align and phase the telescope's optics, while operating at cryogenic temperatures. The OTE is comprised of the optical components of the three mirror anastigmat and a steering mirror, the structure to deploy and support the optics, the WFS&C system to determine the adjustments necessary to align them, the electronics to control them, and the thermal components to manage the OTE temperatures. Technology development and risk reduction hardware are being produced to address critical technical areas. Subsystem development has progressed with the successful completion of several key design reviews and significant progress on the production of the flight Primary Mirror Segment Assemblies.