With new Webb space telescope in spotlight, Corning Inc. highlights its role

Jeff Smith, The Leader
·2 min read

Mirrors created by Corning Inc. technology played a vital role in the completion of the largest, most complex space telescope ever built, the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA's team recently completed the final stages of deploying a 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, which will be used for all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations.

NASA launched the spacecraft Dec. 25, and it reached its planned position in space Monday.

The spacecraft houses three telescopes with mirrors made by Corning Inc., according to Gabrielle Bailey, a Corning Inc. spokesperson. The telescopes contain an imaging system that will capture "groundbreaking" shots expected this summer.

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NASA technicians lifted the telescope using a crane and moved it inside a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
NASA technicians lifted the telescope using a crane and moved it inside a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“I’m incredibly proud to be part of the team that played a vital role in this milestone and the world’s most complex space telescope,” said Jeffry Santman, technology lead for Hyperspectral Imaging at Corning Inc.’s Keene, New Hampshire, facility. “There’s a great sense of pride to know that Corning’s technologies have enabled many of NASA’s prominent space missions, from the Apollo 11 to the Hubble and now James Webb telescopes.”

Bailey said Corning Inc.’s Keene facility made the fine guidance sensor and tracker telescopes, which were part of the Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope program.

The James Webb Space Telescope is an international collaboration among NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, with a mission to explore every phase of cosmic history from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the universe.

The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program.

This article originally appeared on The Leader: Corning Inc. made three mirrors on James Webb Space Telescope