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arxiv: 2301.01779 · v1 · pith:246PWKXGnew · submitted 2023-01-04 · 🌌 astro-ph.IM

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

Michael W. McElwain , Lee D. Feinberg , Marshall D. Perrin , Mark Clampin , C. Matt Mountain , Matthew D. Lallo , Charles-Philippe Lajoie , Randy A. Kimble
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Charles W. Bowers Christopher C. Stark D. Scott Acton Ken Aiello Charles Atkinson Beth Barinek Allison Barto Scott Basinger Tracy Beck Matthew D. Bergkoetter Marcel Bluth Rene A. Boucarut Gregory R. Brady Keira J. Brooks Bob Brown John Byard Larkin Carey Maria Carrasquilla Sid Celeste Dan Chae David Chaney Pierre Chayer Taylor Chonis Lester Cohen Helen J. Cole Thomas M. Comeau Matthew Coon Eric Coppock Laura Coyle Rick Davis Bruce H. Dean Kenneth J. Dziak Michael Eisenhower Nicolas Flagey Randy Franck Benjamin Gallagher Larry Gilman Tiffany Glassman Gary Golnik Joseph J. Green John Grieco Shari Haase Theodore J. Hadjimichael John G. Hagopian Walter G. Hahn George F. Hartig Keith A. Havey William L. Hayden Robert Hellekson Brian Hicks Sherie T. Holfeltz Joseph M. Howard Jesse A. Huguet Brian Jahne Leslie A. Johnson John D. Johnston Alden S. Jurling Jeffrey R. Kegley Scott Kennard Ritva A. Keski-Kuha J. Scott Knight Bernard A. Kulp Joshua S. Levi Marie B. Levine Paul Lightsey Robert A. Luetgens John C. Mather Gary W. Matthews Andrew G. McKay Kimberly I. Mehalick Marcio Mel\'endez Ted Messer Gary E. Mosier Jess Murphy Edmund P. Nelan Malcolm B. Niedner Darin M. No\"el Catherine M. Ohara Raymond G. Ohl Eugene Olczak Shannon B. Osborne Sang Park Kevin Patton Charles Perrygo Laurent Pueyo Lisbeth Quesnel Dale Ranck David C. Redding Michael W. Regan Paul Reynolds Rich Rifelli Jane R. Rigby Derek Sabatke Babak N. Saif Thomas R. Scorse Byoung-Joon Seo Fang Shi Norbert Sigrist Koby Smith J. Scott Smith Erin C. Smith Sangmo Tony Sohn John Spina H. Philip Stahl Randal Telfer Todd Terlecki Scott C. Texter David Van Buren Julie M. Van Campen Bego\~na Vila Mark F. Voyton Mark Waldman Chanda B. Walker Nick Weiser Conrad Wells Garrett West Tony L. Whitman Eric Wick Erin Wolf Greg Young Thomas P. Zielinski
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keywords telescopespacejwstsciencedevelopmentjamesperformancewebb
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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.

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