JWST's Backplane Arrives at Marshall for Testing

A major piece of the James Webb Space Telescope, the mirror's primary backplane support, arrived Aug. 22 2014 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for testing in the X-ray and Cryogenic Test Facility. The backplane is the backbone of the telescope, supporting its 18 beryllium mirrors, instruments and other elements while the telescope is looking into deep space.