REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Oct. 6, 2020 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and NASA have completed environmental testing on the James Webb Space Telescope. The environmental testing demonstrated Webb’s ability to withstand harsh environmental...

The fully assembled James Webb Space Telescope has completed its environmental tests at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, CA. The environmental tests are a combination of acoustic and sine vibration tests. These tests simulate the conditions the telescope will encounter during launch. Completing these tests ensures that the telescope will survive launch. Prior to testing, engineers lifted the telescope onto the transport fixture and covered the telescope with a protective tent cover, sometimes referred to as the clamshell cover. The tent cover keep the telescope safe from contamination particles while it was being moved to the testing area. Next up for Webb, engineers will conduct the final sunshield deployment tests.

Music credit: Amazing Discoveries, Universal Music/KillerTracks, Damien Deshayes

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Michael P. Menzel (AIMM): Producer
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Videographer
Michael P. Menzel (AIMM): Videographer
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SpaceX is standing down from Falcon 9’s launch attempt of GPS III Space Vehicle 04 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, October 2. The team is evaluating the next earliest launch opportunity and we will provide an update as soon as a date is confirmed.