Greg Robinson, program director of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, said his team and Northrop Grumman are working on testing and integration towards the observatory spacecraft’s launch in March 2021, Space News reported Tuesday.
The activities, including optics and instrument integration, took place at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Southern California.
“That included the integration of the spacecraftâs optics and instruments section with the spacecraft bus and sunshield in August,” said Robinson.
He said the joint team has made good progress in building the telescope over the last six months. The spacecraft has only exhibited minor issues in recent tests, with no major technical challenges, Robinson noted.