NIRSpec STM Focal Plane Detector
ITT Corp.
White Plains, NY
914-641-2000
www.itt.com

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled for launch in 2013 with the goal of discovering the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe. On board the JWST is ITT Corp.’s Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) Structural Thermal Model (STM) focal-plane detector packaging that will allow scientists to perform spectroscopy on planetary systems and further the studies on the origins of life.

The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) enables scientists to obtainsimultaneous spectra of more than 100 objects in a 9-square-arcminutefield of view. (NASA Goddard)

The STM focal-plane detector packaging - the first of four packages - is a mass and thermal simulator with non-operational detectors that will be used for environmental testing and qualification of the NIRSpec instrument design. The delivery of NIRSpec allows NASA and its partner, the European Space Agency, to further develop the instrument. Packaging for the NIRSpec focal plane detectors will withstand the harsh-environment launch into the L2 orbit.

As part of an international collaboration, NASA will provide the packaging to the European Space Agency for integration into the NIRSpec instrument engineering model. The three other focal-plane detector packages for the JWST are scheduled to be delivered later this year.

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