Telescope ‘Backplane’ Successfully Tested

U.S. scientists say the spine of the James Webb Space Telescope has become the largest structure ever tested in freezing conditions.

The support, called the backplane, was tested at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to make sure it won’t move in the extreme cold conditions of space. Researchers said the test showed the backplane’s movements were so small they were measured in nanometers.

The structure will support the two-story high telescope that will involve 10 different technologies when it is launched in 2013.

The backplane was tested in temperatures as low as minus 405 degrees Fahrenheit in a special vacuum chamber at Marshall’s X-Ray Calibration Facility. All of the telescope’s technologies must pass the same test to ensure they can work in space.

The Northrop Grumman Corp. is leading the team that is designing and building the telescope under a contract with NASA.