File:Fine Protection for the Webb's Fine Guidance Sensor (7728503286).jpg

After performing an initial post-shipping inspection of the Fine Guidance Sensor/Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS/NIRISS) in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., engineers from COM DEV (the Canadian Space Agency's prime contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope), and from NASA, place a protective drape over the instrument, until work resumes on the next day. The drape is made out of a material called llumalloy, and it is for contamination protection.

The Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the Webb mission, the FGS/NIRISS arrived at NASA Goddard on July 30, 2012. The FGS/NIRISS is the second instrument to arrive at NASA Goddard that will fly aboard the James Webb Space Telescope. The Fine Guidance Sensor will enable the telescope to accurately and precisely point at the correct, intended objects for it to observe.

For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope, visit: <a href="http://www.jwst.nasa.gov" rel="nofollow">www.jwst.nasa.gov</a>

Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

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