ACCURATE, PORTABLE HARDNESS TESTING:

Leicester Space Research Centre: The prevention of failure in service of vital components, is often the principal motivation for stringent quality control regimes, this was never truer than in the case of the James Webb Space Telescope project. Scheduled to be launched in 2013, the JWST will be a giant step forward in the human quest to understand our place in the Universe. With its infrared-optimized telescope cooled to tens of degrees above absolute zero, hanging in the darkness of space far from earth, JWST will examine every phase of our history, from the first luminous glows following the big bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets such as Earth. Following its launch, JWST will be the premier space observatory for astronomers world wide, extending the tantalising discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the giant ground-based telescopes.

JWST science themes include -
Cosmology and structure of the universe
Origin and Evolution of Galaxies
History of the Milky Way and its neighbours
Birth and formation of stars
Origin and evolution of the planetary systems
Dark Matter

Maximising the mission’s potential to make new scientific discoveries, JWST will have a large 6.5-meter primary mirror, passively cooled to approximately 45K by a sunshield. It will be sensitive to light from 0.6 to 27 micrometers. JWST will contain four 4 advanced scientific instruments on its Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), the Near Infrared/Visible Camera (NIRCAM), Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSPEC), Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS). Mission innovations include a folding segmented primary mirror, adjusted to shape after launch, ultra-lightweight beryllium optics, detectors that are able to record extremely weak signals, microshutters that enable programmable object selection for the spectrograph, and a cryocooler for cooling the mid-IR detectors to 7K

The JWST project represents an international collaboration among NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. With Northrop Grumman Space Technologies as prime contractor and Goddard Flight Centre managing the huge development effort, on completion JWST will be operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Enjoying an excellent international reputation in its field, the University of Leicester Space Research Centre provides the project mechanical engineering lead for the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and is responsible for the design and provision of the MIRI Primary Structure in collaboration with the Danish National Space Centre, whilst also providing support for MIRI test and calibration activities.

As failure in service of any of the MIRI components could prove disastrous to the JWST mission, the University of Leicester Space Research Centre applies stringent quality control regimes at every stage of the MIRI manufacturing process. When faced with the need for a high quality, portable hardness tester that would be able to give accurate results over a wide cross section of components, Jon Sykes (MIRI European Consortium Mechanical Engineering Lead) purchased a CV Rangemaster from Bowers Metrology. John enthused, “The Rangemaster allows us to make an assessment of material yield strength at various stages of the Primary Structure manufacturing process. This information is critical, as it provides confirmation that the structural performance will be within our predicted limits, and therefore that structural failure will not occur during test or in flight. The portability, range, ease of calibration and measurement repeatability of the Bowers device renders it entirely suitable for this application.”

Published on February 28, 2008 07:38 updated on October 13, 2008 21:54