Video of NIRSpec acoustic and vibration testing, June 2013
Date: 07 August 2013
Copyright: EADS Astrium
JWST's Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) acoustic and vibration test campaigns were undertaken at the IABG test facility in Germany by EADS Astrium. During the tests, NIRSpec was exposed to vibrations and sounds that mimick the conditions it will experience during the launch onboard an Ariane 5.
The silver coloured multilayer insulation with orange tape is a protective cover over NIRSpec. This cover remains in place during flight. The instrument is bolted to a large vibration table ("shaker") under a portable cleanroom tent.
The screen on the right shows the frequency of the oscillations of the shaker. During these tests the frequency of vibration ranged from a few Hz to 100 Hz.
After these harsh tests, NIRSpec was inspected for damage – none was found. The optical alignment was also checked, and found not to have changed.
NIRSpec is developed by ESA with EADS Astrium Germany GmbH as the prime contractor.