High-Precision Installation of Mirror Segments into JWT`s Supporting Structure with Hexapod from PI
In recent months, the James Webb Telescope (JWT) has taken numerous "World's first" pictures of a black hole and of galaxies previously undiscovered. Once again, PI is proud that a hexapod was used to position the elements of the main mirror to within a thousandth of a millimeter, and that we have thus made a significant contribution to the JWT.
Read the article here to find out how NASA engineers relied on the Physik Instrumente (PI) Group’s skills in precision positioning for assembly of the telescope.
I will never forget my time during the assembly of the mirror segments.
I was very fortunate to be visiting with NASA Goddard engineers in the Structures & Optics Branches during the 4-month window when the mirror segments were assembled, between November 2015 and February 2016 - just prior to my first daughter being born. I was one of a subset of US civilian contractors to see up close, JWT's hexagonal mirror segments. It is difficult to put into words the visual appeal of the gold-plated beryllium: pictures do not do them justice in scale or their sheen. A proud moment for me during this time was seeing the assembly of the hexagonal segments of the primary mirror, which was done via robotic arm and a PI hexapod as the end effector.
I was there when this took place (see image below), quite a site to see.
Contact person: Angelo Prisco, Business Development Performance Automation Technology