News Archive / Tagged: Goddard Space Flight Center

• NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope completes testing at Goddard

  Jim SharkeyMay 5th, 2017

  NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) successfully completed the center of curvature test, a crucial optical measurement of the telescope's primary mirror prior to cryogenic testing, and the final test at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

• Proposed CubeSat mission to study atmospheric processes on Venus

  Tomasz NowakowskiApril 9th, 2017

  A small CubeSat designed to investigate atmospheric processes on Venus has been recently chosen by NASA for further development. The spacecraft, known as the CubeSat UV Experiment (CUVE), is one of ten missions to study Solar System planets and asteroids, selected by the agency under the Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) program.

• Robotic Refueling Mission leaves ISS

  Heather SmithApril 8th, 2017

  After a six-year stay attached to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) payload made its way back to Earth on March 19, 2017, to burn up in the atmosphere inside the trunk of SpaceX's CRS-10 Dragon spacecraft.

• Laser communications to provide faster connections for Orion

  Paul KnightlyApril 4th, 2017

  NASA engineers are continuing to push the limits of laser communication technology by developing a new system called LEMNOS that is to be tested on the second flight of the Orion spacecraft just beyond the Moon. Also referred to as optical communication, laser communication between a spacecraft and the Earth holds the promise of allowing higher data transmission rates than are currently possible.

• Most of Mars’ atmosphere lost to space, scientists say

  Jim SharkeyApril 1st, 2017

  According to a new study by scientists working with NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, the Martian atmosphere was mostly stripped away by solar wind and radiation, changing Mars from a world that could have supported life billions of years ago into the frigid desert planet it is today.

• ‘Anomalous readings’ detected during James Webb Space Telescope tests

  Scott JohnsonDecember 19th, 2016

  Earlier this month, on Dec. 3, accelerometers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) detected "anomalous readings" in a portion of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These "readings" took place during vibration tests being conducted to simulate anticipated launch conditions.

• James Webb Space Telescope nears completion

  Scott JohnsonNovember 7th, 2016

  GREENBELT, Md. — On Nov. 2, NASA celebrated the completion of the OTIS (Optical Telescope, plus Integrated Science instrument module) portion of the James Webb Space Telescope during a "Golden Mirrors" media event in Building 29 at Goddard Space Flight Center. SpaceFlight Insider was on hand for the event.

• James Webb Space Telescope now fully equipped with science instruments

  Laurel KornfeldMay 29th, 2016

  A team of some two dozen NASA technicians and engineers have successfully installed the package of four science instruments that will accompany the James Webb Space Telescope.

• NASA’s WFIRST spacecraft expected to advance understanding of dark matter

  Tomasz NowakowskiMay 5th, 2016

  NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) could be destined for great discoveries in the field of astrophysics. With a view about 100 times bigger than that of the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, WFIRST is expected to yield crucial results about the still-elusive dark matter and dark energy.

• Completion of primary mirror marks milestone for James Webb space telescope

  Laurel KornfeldFebruary 11th, 2016

  The James Webb Space Telescope, dubbed the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and the most powerful space-based observatory ever constructed, reached a major milestone recently when its 18th and final primary mirror was installed on February 3.

• James Webb Space Telescope mirror installation halfway complete

  Jim SharkeyDecember 31st, 2015

  NASA recently announced that the ninth flight mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been installed, marking the halfway completion point of the segmented primary mirror. Engineers working in the massive clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center used a robotic arm to place the mirror onto the telescope structure. The first of 18 mirror segments was installed in November.

• Deploying wings and assembling mirrors: JWST takes shape at Goddard

  Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 20th, 2015

  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is taking shape inside the cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Recently, Goddard’s engineers successfully completed two deployments for the JWST’s side portions of the backplane structure that fold up, called “wings”. They also started installing the JWST’s primary flight mirrors.

• NASA’s LRO shows effects of Earth’s gravity on the Moon

  Joe LatrellSeptember 21st, 2015

  Just as the Moon's gravity influences the Earth, the opposite is also true. A new report from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft shows that Earth's gravity has influenced the orientation of thousands of faults formed in the Moon's surface.

• Spectrometer delivered for NASA’s asteroid sample return mission

  Tomasz NowakowskiJuly 14th, 2015

  NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is taking shape as an instrument that will explore the surface of an asteroid, has arrived at Lockheed Martin for installation onto the spacecraft.

• Van Allen probes discover an impenetrable barrier in space

  Jim SharkeyNovember 29th, 2014

  Scientists have discovered that the Van Allen radiation belts, two donut shaped bands of radiation that surround the Earth, contain a nearly impenetrable barrier that prevents high-speed, energetic electrons from reaching the Earth. The discovery was made using NASA’s Van Allen probes, which were launched to study the region in August of 2012. A paper […]