The first of 18 mirror segments for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) arrived Dec. 9 at Marshall Space Flight Center to undergo tests simulating extreme temperatures of space. Tests at Marshall's X-ray and Cryogenic Facility in Huntsville, Ala., will include cryogenic testing in a 228-cubic meter helium-cooled vacuum chamber. While the flight mirror is cooled from room temperature to subfreezing temperatures, engineers will measure the structural stability of the hardware.
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