James Webb Telescope Overview

The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. The telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in 2021.

The Webb telescope was formerly known as the "Next Generation Space Telescope" (NGST); it was renamed in September 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb.

Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is managing the development effort. The main industrial partner is Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate Webb after launch.

Several innovative technologies have been developed for Webb. These include a primary mirror made of 18 separate segments that unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium. Webb's biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the Sun more than a million times. The telescope's four instruments - cameras and spectrometers - have detectors that are able to record extremely faint signals. One instrument (NIRSpec) has programmable microshutters, which enable observation up to 100 objects simultaneously. Webb also has a cryocooler for cooling the mid-infrared detectors of another instrument (MIRI) to a very cold 7 kelvins (minus 447 Fahrenheit) so they can work.

A problem with deploying cameras would be interference with keeping Webb cool. Webb must operate at a very low temperature so as not to disturb its infrared observations, which means attaching a camera would be very complicated. "Plastics fall apart" in the cold, Van Campen said, "and they shrink and crack glues ... to make something that would work in the cryogenic temperatures on the cold side of the sunshield will take a lot of engineering and design." And running heat cables out to keep the cameras warm could cause Webb to accidentally study the heat signature of the cables, rather than the signature of the universe.

1. The Project Director is preparing the schedule for the project. Briefly explain a burst activity .

2. The Program Director is planning to outsource part of the project. What are three types of contracts that can be used

3.What document would you use to formally authorize "The James Webb Space Telescope" project and name any three elements of this document

4.Identify any two risks associated with this project and briefly explain the benefits of risk management