AURORA, Colo., Jan. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon (NYSE:
RTN) completed factory acceptance testing of the flight operations
system for the James Webb Space Telescope. With seven times the
light-collecting power of its predecessor, the Hubble Space
Telescope, this next-generation telescope will gather data and
images of dust clouds, stars and galaxies deeper into
space.
Over 800 requirements were successfully verified on the JWST
ground control system during the testing conducted at Raytheon's
Aurora, Colorado, facility,
bringing NASA's next space observatory one step closer to the
scheduled 2018 launch.
"The JWST flight operations system is our latest generation of
mission management and command and control capabilities for
satellite operations," said Matt
Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon Navigation and
Environmental Solutions. "Our ground control system will
download data from space and fly the telescope as it penetrates
through cosmic dust to unlock the universe's secrets like never
before."
JWST takes observations in the infrared spectrum to penetrate
cosmic dust to reveal the universe's first galaxies, while
observing newly forming planetary systems. JWST is expected to make
observations for five years, will carry enough fuel for 10 years,
and is designed to withstand impacts of space debris as it orbits
far beyond the Earth's Moon.
Raytheon installed the ground control system for JWST on the
campus of the Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore, Maryland, under
contract to the Space Telescope Science Institute.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of
$23 billion and 61,000 employees, is
a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil
government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of
innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art
electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and
services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in
more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on
Twitter.
www.raytheon.com
Media Contacts
Raytheon
Maureen Stevens
+1. 571.250.1373
iispr@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon Company