{"id":9419,"date":"2023-10-31T12:19:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T16:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-webb-telescope-improves-simulation-software\/"},"modified":"2023-10-31T12:19:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T16:19:47","slug":"nasas-webb-telescope-improves-simulation-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-webb-telescope-improves-simulation-software\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Webb Telescope Improves Simulation Software"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s Webb Telescope Improves Simulation Software<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

5 min read<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Webb Telescope Improves Simulation Software<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Stars<\/figure>
\n
The James Webb Space Telescope captures a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46\/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The James Webb Space Telescope truly explores the unknown, displaying stunning images of previously unseen corners of the universe only possible because of the telescope\u2019s 21-foot segmented mirror that unfurled and assembled itself in space.<\/p>\n

Decades of testing went into the materials, design, and processes needed to develop the largest telescope in space. However, the whole project was too complex to test on the ground, at scale, at minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and in other space-like conditions.<\/p>\n

Instead, engineers relied on software simulations to understand how the telescope would behave under different in-space conditions, and that work has helped advance the whole field of integrated computer modeling.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Animation<\/figure>
\n
The Ansys Zemax OpticStudio software package, pictured here in a demo of James Webb Space Telescope mirror modeling, was equipped with new capabilities and features as a result of being used in the observatory\u2019s development. <\/div>\n
Ansys Inc.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe pushed everything, all the simulation, just as hard as it would go,\u201d said Erin Elliott, an optical engineer at Ansys, Inc., which makes Ansys Zemax OpticStudio, one of the design software suites used to develop hardware and software for the Webb telescope.<\/p>\n

Simulation technology has improved dramatically over the last two decades because of increases in computing power and new ways of accessing offsite computing power as a cloud service. But additional improvements trace back directly to Webb\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

Elliott used OpticStudio to support the Webb telescope while working for other NASA contractors, beginning in the early 2000s, before starting work in 2015 for Zemax \u00ac\u2013 which later became Ansys Zemax \u00ac\u2013 headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

In the early days, Elliott said, Zemax tweaked its software for the Webb telescope effort. \u201cThey made some specific changes for us at the time having to do with handling the coordinate systems of the segments,\u201d she said, referring to the 18 hexagonal segments that make up the telescope\u2019s primary mirror.<\/p>\n

Elliott also recalled talking to Zemax leadership numerous times about the need for the software to communicate better with other Microsoft Windows programs. The company introduced an API, or application programming interface, for OpticStudio, which enables the suite to work with other programs and allows for further customization. There were plenty of reasons to add that technology but Webb demands were likely significant among them, Elliott said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Engineer<\/figure>
\n
An engineer examines the Webb telescope primary mirror Engineering Design Unit segment in the clean room at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center. <\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Joseph Howard, an optical engineer at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where Webb and its science instrument module were assembled, noted that using several modeling packages helped drive innovation in the field. \u201cIt\u2019s important to have multiple software companies out there that can help you not only for cross-checking the modeling, but because they make each other better through competition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to improvements made to OpticStudio during Webb telescope development, Ansys Zemax in 2021 introduced the Structural, Thermal, Analysis, and Results (STAR) module, which benefited from the knowledge Elliott gained working on the NASA project.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Telescope<\/figure>
\n
The first six flight-ready James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror segments are prepped to begin final cryogenic testing at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When a mirror or lens changes shape due to temperature swings, the optics move. Much of the OpticStudio modeling was completed in smaller pieces \u2014 engineers would run a thermal simulation independently and add that data to the next optical model, generating more data for the next run.<\/p>\n

The STAR module incorporates analyses from other simulation software directly into OpticStudio optical models \u2014 an efficiency applicable to telescope and aerospace designs. This feature is also increasingly important for autonomous vehicles, cell phone lenses, and other optics working in tough environments.<\/p>\n

Future telescopes and other spacecraft are likely to involve elements of the Webb design. More will travel in segments that must self-assemble in space, and the development of the increasingly complicated robotics and optics will rely on improved modeling software.
\u201cWhen we built Webb, we knew we couldn\u2019t fully test it on the ground prior to flight, so we depended a whole lot upon modeling and doing analysis to get ready for flight,\u201d Howard said. \u201cThe next great observatory will be even more dependent on modeling software.\u201d
Meanwhile, designers of more earthly technologies are already seeing the benefits of an improved OpticStudio, using it to design precision endoscopes, a thermal imager to detect COVID-19 exposures in a crowd, augmented reality displays and headsets, a laser thruster technology for nanosatellites, and, of course, more telescopes.
Elliott also noted that the Webb telescope project trained the next cohort of telescope and optical device builders \u2013 those designing and using the telescope\u2019s technological spinoffs.
\u201cThe people who built the Hubble Space Telescope were leading the Webb Telescope,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd now the younger engineers who cut our teeth on this project and learned from it are becoming the group of people who will build the next structures.\u201d
Elliott maintains that the project \u201cwas worth it alone for training this huge cohort of young engineers and releasing them into high-tech fields.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA has a long history of\u00a0transferring technology to the private sector<\/a>. The agency\u2019s Spinoff publication profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America\u2019s investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer program in NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).<\/em><\/p>\n

For more information on how NASA brings space technology down to Earth, visit:<\/em><\/p>\n

www.spinoff.nasa.gov<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\tFacebook logo<\/title><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@NASATechnology<\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@NASA_Technology<\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Keep Exploring<\/div>\n

Discover More Topics From NASA<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpace Technology Mission Directorate<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/circle><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTechnology Transfer & Spinoffs<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/circle><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Webb Space Telescope<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/circle><\/path><\/svg>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

This placeholder has been created to fill a slot in the Topic Cards block on pages imported for the Hubble\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGoddard Space Flight Center<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/circle><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Share<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n