Wilson Case Protects Large, Delicate Beryllium Mirror Selected for use in NASA's New $800 Million Space Telescope

HASTINGS, NE - When the new $824.8 million James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is launched into space to replace the Hubble in 2011, its state-of-the-art beryllium mirror technology will have already survived the rigors of earthbound shipping and handling thanks to Wilson Case.

Wilson Case was selected to design and construct the shipping case that protected the beryllium mirror during transit to and from the facility at which competing mirror technologies were tested during the JWST development process. Beryllium was selected as the preferred mirror technology for the JWST due to its proven performance under the super-cold environments of deep space.

The beryllium mirror is about as tall as a two-story house. While it is so sturdy that it bends less than the width of a human hair, it is also so delicate that it can detect the first light of the universe that burst forth about 11 billion years ago. Maintaining the integrity of the mirror was critical to its performance during the rigorous six-month testing procedure.

According to Doug Huffaker, sales manager for Wilson Case, designing a case to protect this delicate, costly mirror during transport was no small task - requiring Wilson Case engineers to design a case-within-a-case system. "No portion of the case could touch the mirror at anytime," Huffaker said. "So we created a system whereby the mirror was mounted on a plate that was mounted to the inside of the case in a space that perfectly fit the apparatus." The outside case was designed to distribute weight, shock and vibration - providing a "pillow" effect for the interior case and its fragile contents.

Wilson Case has served the United States government, the armed forces and prime government contractors for nearly three decades. The company has engineered and constructed reusable shipping cases for training simulators, weapons, jet engine parts, airplane windshields and mobility cases for rapid deployment of troops.

Since 1976, Wilson Case has been a leading maker of custom and standard reusable shipping containers and carrying cases for aerospace, computers, audio-visual equipment, electronics, testing equipment, exhibits, data storage, athletic equipment, musical instruments and more.