LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, June 19, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- The Aero Club of Southern California is proud to announce the James Webb Space Telescope Team will be honored with the inaugural Howard Hughes Memorial Discovery Award during its annual Howard Hughes Memorial event on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at The California Club, Los Angeles CA.

The Howard Hughes Memorial Discovery Award honors teams who have significantly advanced aerospace discovery, and none have done more than the James Webb Space Telescope team. Their accomplishments in the fields of engineering, astrophysics and human discovery, have fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe and redefined what "discovery" means. The Webb Telescope represents the best of humanity, and international collaboration, and the images it has produced are driving amazing discoveries.

In a culmination of many 'firsts', Webb is the world's first space deployable telescope and includes 10 new technologies that span mechanical, material, optical, thermal, and electrical engineering. After completing testing in August 2021 at Northrop Grumman's Space Park in Redondo Beach, California, the Webb team spent nearly a month folding, stowing, and preparing the massive observatory for shipment to South America. On Dec. 25, 2021, Webb launched and began its million-mile journey, and over the course of two weeks, completed a series of complex deployments and maneuvers, the first ever attempted in space. The Webb team then meticulously aligned Webb's 18 hexagonal mirrors within nanometers, calibrated its suite of instruments and began to explore the universe.

The observatory is now performing at nearly twice its mission requirement, and the team has discovered some of the earliest galaxies and has delivered more detailed exoplanet atmosphere views than ever before. After Webb's first year on orbit, we know more about our solar system, other stars, and the origins of the universe.

This award recognizes the entire Webb team comprising individuals who designed, developed and now operate Webb from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, an industry team led by Northrop Grumman, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Ball Aerospace and invaluable contributions from international partnerships with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

For further details please visit aeroclubsocal.org.

Joanna Speed
Aero Club of Southern California
+1 310-893-4004
email us here

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