By Josh Perry, Editor
[email protected]

According to a recent article by ECN, NASA has developed several innovative cooling technologies that are being used on the James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently scheduled for a 2020 launch, including baffles that channel heat from electronics away from sensitive equipment.

}The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched in 2020. (NASA)

The article explained that the telescope has an integrated science instrument module (ISIM) housing the four important instruments that NASA is adding to the telescope: the near-infrared camera (NIRCam), near-infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec), mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), and the fine guidance sensor/near infrared imager and slitless spectrograph (FGS/NIRISS).

“In an effort to keep heat way from the science equipment, a separate compartment underneath the ISIM holds the electronics used to power and operate the instruments,” the article said. “Specially designed baffles safely channel the excess warmth, which act as mirrors as they reflect the heat (infrared radiation) in a specific direction away from the observatory's cold surfaces.”

In addition, NASA has described a cryocooler that will keep the mid-infrared detectors of the MIRI cooled to 7 K.

NASA said, “Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.”