Precious cargo: transporting contamination-sensitive instruments and optics

Joseph O. Ward; Craig B. Jones; Edwin W. Goldman

doi:10.1117/12.2637783

3 October 2022 Precious cargo: transporting contamination-sensitive instruments and optics

Joseph O. Ward, Craig B. Jones, Edwin W. Goldman

Proceedings Volume 12224, Space Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2022; 1222405 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2637783
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2022, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a multi-national program with Instruments and hardware supplied by companies all over the world and numerous states in the United States. In order to transport larger assemblies, like the Optical Telescope Element / Integrated Science Instrument Module (OTIS), and ultimately JWST, the Space Telescope Transporter for Air, Road and Sea (STTARS) was designed and constructed. STTARS is a massive mobile cleanroom (longer than 2 semi-trailers) that provides an ISO class 7 payload environment while being transported by road, airborne and marine vehicles. Temperature, humidity and particle counts are controlled and continuously tracked, with fallout and NVR witness samples for confirmation. Instruments or sensitive hardware may be purged continuously during transport. STTARS has 5 main components: the upper tent frame, lower tent frame, pallet, strong back and lid. After transporting OTIS to Northrup Grumman (NG), STTARS was modified to increase its height to house the JWST Observatory on its voyage to French Guiana. This new configuration was designated Observatory STTARS (OSTTARS). OSTTARS was too tall to travel by C5 aircraft, so the trip to the launch site was made by ship. Through JWST’s land, air and sea transports, STTARS and OSTTARS kept JWST hardware exceptionally clean and safe.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Joseph O. Ward, Craig B. Jones, and Edwin W. Goldman "Precious cargo: transporting contamination-sensitive instruments and optics", Proc. SPIE 12224, Space Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2022, 1222405 (3 October 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2637783

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