NASA Tech Briefs - July 2010
Vibration Isolators Supplied for
James Webb Telescope Testing

Vibration isolators
Minus K.® Technology
Inglewood, CA
310-348-9656 www.minusk.com

Minus K Technology was chosen by ITT Space Systems, LLC, a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman Corp., to provide vibration isolators for the ground testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA s Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX). The JWST will be placed in a vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center, and supported by a set of custom vibration isolators. The JWST is a large-aperture infrared space telescope currently planned for launch in 2014, and is designated to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope. A major factor in the selection of the ovibration isolators was that they not only isolate vibration vertically, but also horizontally at less than 1 Hz. The passive isolators do not require air and offer better isolation than air and active isolation systems.