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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large (6.5 m) cryogenic segmented aperture telescope with science instruments that cover the near- and mid-infrared from 0.6-27 microns. The large aperture not only provides high photometric sensitivity, but it also enables high angular resolution across the bandpass, with a diffraction limited point spread function (PSF) at wavelengths longer than 2 microns. The JWST PSF quality and stability are intimately tied to the science capabilities as it is convolved with the astrophysical scene. However, the PSF evolves at a variety of timescales based on telescope jitter and thermal distortion as the observatory attitude is varied. We present the image quality and stability requirements, recent predictions from integrated modeling, measurements made during ground-based testing, and performance characterization activities that will be carried out as part of the commissioning process.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a 6.6m diameter, segmented, deployable telescope for cryogenic IR space astronomy (~40K). The JWST Observatory includes the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) and the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) that contains four science instruments (SI) and the fine guider. The SIs are mounted to a composite metering structure. The SI and guider units were integrated to the ISIM structure and optically tested at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a suite using the Optical Telescope Element SIMulator (OSIM). OSIM is a full field, cryogenic JWST telescope simulator. SI performance, including alignment and wave front error, were evaluated using OSIM. We describe test and analysis methods for optical performance verification of the ISIM Element, with an emphasis on the processes used to plan and execute the test. The complexity of ISIM and OSIM drove us to develop a software tool for test planning that allows for configuration control of observations, associated scripts, and management of hardware and software limits and constraints, as well as tools for rapid data evaluation, and flexible re-planning in response to the unexpected. As examples of our test and analysis approach, we discuss how factors such as the ground test thermal environment are compensated in alignment. We describe how these innovative methods for test planning and execution and post-test analysis were instrumental in the verification program for the ISIM element, with enough information to allow the reader to consider these innovations and lessons learned in this successful effort in their future testing for other programs.

Many contemporary spacecraft materials exhibit cathodoluminescence when exposed to electron flux from the space plasma environment. A quantitative, physics-based model has been developed to predict the intensity of the glow as a function of incident electron current density and energy, temperature, and intrinsic material properties. We present a comparative study of the absolute spectral radiance for several types of dielectric and composite materials based on this model which spans three orders of magnitude. Variations in intensity are contrasted for different electron environments, different sizes of samples and sample sets, different testing and analysis methods, and data acquired at different test facilities. Together, these results allow us to estimate the accuracy and precision to which laboratory studies may be able to determine the response of spacecraft materials in the actual space environment. It also provides guidance as to the distribution of emissions that may be expected for sets of similar flight hardware under similar environmental conditions.

Many contemporary spacecraft materials exhibit cathodoluminescence when exposed to electron flux from the space plasma environment. A quantitative, physics-based model has been developed to predict the intensity of the glow as a function of incident electron current density and energy, temperature, and intrinsic material properties. We present a comparative study of the absolute spectral radiance for several types of dielectric and composite materials based on this model which spans three orders of magnitude. Variations in intensity are contrasted for different electron environments, different sizes of samples and sample sets, different testing and analysis methods, and data acquired at different test facilities. Together, these results allow us to estimate the accuracy and precision to which laboratory studies may be able to determine the response of spacecraft materials in the actual space environment. It also provides guidance as to the distribution of emissions that may be expected for sets of similar flight hardware under similar environmental conditions.

Electron irradiation experiments have investigated the diverse electron-induced optical and electrical signatures observed in ground-based tests of various space observatory materials at low temperature. Three types of light emission were observed: (i); long-duration cathodoluminescence which persisted as long as the electron beam was on (ii) short-duration (<1 s) arcing, resulting from electrostatic discharge; and (iii) intermediate-duration (~100 s) glow-termed "flares". We discuss how the electron currents and arcing-as well as light emission absolute intensity and frequency-depend on electron beam energy, power, and flux and the temperature and thickness of different bulk (polyimides, epoxy resins, and silica glasses) and composite dielectric materials (disordered SiO2 thin films, carbon- and fiberglass-epoxy composites, and macroscopically-conductive carbon-loaded polyimides). We conclude that electron-induced optical emissions resulting from interactions between observatory materials and the space environment electron flux can, in specific circumstances, make significant contributions to the stray light background that could possibly adversely affect the performance of space-based observatories.

Disordered thin film SiO2SiOx coatings undergoing electron-beam bombardment exhibit cathodoluminescence, which can produce deleterious stray background light in cryogenic space-based astronomical observatories exposed to high-energy electron fluxes from space plasmas. As future observatory missions push the envelope into more extreme environments and more complex and sensitive detection, a fundamental understanding of the dependencies of this cathodoluminescence becomes critical to meet performance objectives of these advanced space-based observatories. Measurements of absolute radiance and emission spectra as functions of incident electron energy, flux, and power typical of space environments are presented for thin (60-200 nm) SiO2SiOx optical coatings on reflective metal substrates over a range of sample temperatures (40-400 K) and emission wavelengths (260-5000 nm). Luminescent intensity and peak wavelengths of four distinct bands were observed in UVVISNIR emission spectra, ranging from 300 nm to 1000 nm. A simple model is proposed that describes the dependence of cathodoluminescence on irradiation time, incident flux and energy, sample thickness, and temperature.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Telescope Element (OTE) mirror coating program has been completed. The science goals of the JWST mission require a uniform, low stress, durable optical coating with high reflectivity over the JWST spectral region. The coating has to be environmentally stable, radiation resistant and compatible with the cryogenic operating environment. The large size, 1.52 m point to point, light weight, beryllium primary mirror (PM) segments and flawless coating process during the flight mirror coating program that consisted coating of 21 flight mirrors were among many technical challenges. This paper provides an overview of the JWST telescope mirror coating program. The paper summarizes the coating development program and performance of the flight mirrors.

Optical coatings of disordered thin film SiO,/SiO, samples undergoing electron beam bombardment exhibited a cathodoluminescence effect. Measurements were made of the absolute illuminance and emission spectra as functions of incident electron energy (0.2 keV to 30 keV). flux (approx. 0.1 nA/sq cm to > 100 nA/sq cm) and power (<50 nW/sq cm to > 3mW/sq cm) for coatings (approx.60 nm to approx.200 nm thick) on reflective metal substrates over a range of sample temperatures (approx.40 K to approx.400 K) and emission wavelengths (approx.260 nm to approx.5000 nm). Illuminance reached a plateau saturation intensity I(sub sat) approx. 10(exp -4)W/sq cm. scaling as [I(sub mc)/(I + I(sub mc)/I(sub sat)] as incident power I(sub mc) approached I(sub sat). Well below I(sub sat), illuminance scaled linearly with incident power for lower-energy non-penetrating radiation that deposited all of its energy in the dielectric film. At higher incident energies (> 1-5 keV) electrons penetrate the dielectric, depositing only a fraction of their energy in the dielectric film, where deposited energy scales as the ratio of film thickness to penetration range. Since electron range exhibits a peak below approx. 1 keV, the illuminance decreased with increasing energy for penetrating radiation. The temperature dependence of the illuminance. in general, increased with decreasing temperature. Changes in apparent color with temperature were also observed. Four bands in the UV/VIS/NIR range from 300 nm to 1000 nm were observed in spectral measurements; no significant luminescence was detected in a range from approx. 1000 nm to approx. 5000 nm. These different bands either increased or decreased in intensity and shifted slightly in energy with decreasing temperature. Our measurements are explained in terms of simple disordered band theory models based on atomic-scale stochastic transport of electrons in highly disordered insulating materials. The theoretical models provide a fundamental basis for understanding the dependence of cathodoluminescence on irradiation time, incident flux and energy. and sample thickness and temperature. The observed luminescence occurs when an incident high energy electron excites a valence band electron into the conduction band. Following the excitation. a complex series of transitions take place between the extended conduction states and the long-lived localized trapped states (or chromophores) associated with structural or compositional defects in the dielectric materials. Thc transport equations and models of thc spatial and energy distribution of the trapped states below the mobility edge, their occupancy, and transitions provide microscopic scale insights into this macroscopic phenomenon. Our observations and theoretical models are also compared with similar previous room temperature studies of similar SiO2 films.

Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have obtained deep far ultraviolet images of the compact elliptical galaxy M32. When combined with earlier near-ultraviolet images of the same field, these data enable the construction of an ultraviolet color-magnitude diagram of the hot horizontal branch (HB) population and other hot stars in late phases of stellar evolution. We find few post-asymptotic giant branch (PAGB) stars in the galaxy, implying that these stars either cross the HR diagram more rapidly than expected, and/or that they spend a significant fraction of their time enshrouded in circumstellar material. The predicted luminosity gap between the hot HB and its AGB-Manque (AGBM) progeny is less pronounced than expected, especially when compared to evolutionary tracks with enhanced helium abundances, implying that the presence of hot HB stars in this metal-rich population is not due to (Delta)Y/(Delta)Z greater than or approx. 4. Only a small fraction (approx. 2%) of the HB population is hot enough to produce significant UV emission, yet most of the W emission in this galaxy comes from the hot HB and AGBM stars, implying that PAGB stars are not a significant source of W emission even in those elliptical galaxies with a weak W excess. Subject headings: galaxies: evolution - galaxies: stellar content - galaxies: individual (M32) - stars: evolution - stars: horizontal branch

The Goddard Fabry-Perot has been used at the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope to diagnose jets from young Herbig Ae (HD163296) and T Tauri stars (DL Tau and CW Tau), detected by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The additional spectral discrimination of the Fabry-Perot allows these faint jets to be detected from the ground, to obtain velocities and densities, and to find further extensions. In order to plan what measurements require space coronagraphs, we need to explore the extent to which coronagraphic detections can be made from the ground, including using adaptive optics. Modifications to the Fabry-Perot tunable narrow band coronagraph for possible use with the AEOS 3.65-m telescope will be described.

The Goddard Fabry-Perot has been used at the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope to diagnose jets from young Herbig Ae (HD163296) and T Tauri stars (DL Tau and CW Tau), detected by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The additional spectral discrimination of the Fabry-Perot allows these faint jets to be detected from the ground, to obtain velocities and densities, and to find further extensions. In order to plan what measurements require space coronagraphs, we need to explore the extent to which coronagraphic detections can be made from the ground, including using adaptive optics. Modifications to the Fabry-Perot tunable narrow band coronagraph for possible use with the AEOS 3.65-m telescope will be described.

Detection of extra-solar, and especially terrestrial-like planets, using coronagraphy requires an extremely high level of wavefront correction. For example, the study of Woodruff et al. (2002) has shown that phase uniformity of order 10(exp -4)lambda(rms) must be achieved over the critical range of spatial frequencies to produce the approx. 10(exp 10) contrast needed for the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission. Correction of wavefront phase errors to this level may be accomplished by using a very high precision deformable mirror (DM). However, not only phase but also amplitude uniformity of the same scale (approx. 10(exp -4)) and over the same spatial frequency range must be simultaneously obtained to remove all residual speckle in the image plane. We present a design for producing simultaneous wavefront phase and amplitude uniformity to high levels from an input wavefront of lower quality. The design uses a dual Michelson interferometer arrangement incorporating two DM and a single, fixed mirror (all at pupils) and two beamsplitters: one with unequal (asymmetric) beam splitting and one with symmetric beam splitting. This design allows high precision correction of both phase and amplitude using DM with relatively coarse steps and permits a simple correction algorithm.

Detection of extra-solar, and especially terrestrial-like planets, using coronagraphy requires an extremely high level of wavefront correction. For example, the study of Woodruff et al. (2002) has shown that phase uniformity of order approximately 1e-4 waves(rms) must be achieved over the critical range of spatial frequencies to produce the approximately le10 contrast needed for the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission. Correction of wavefront phase errors to this level may be accomplished by using a very high precision deformable mirror (DM). However, not only phase but also amplitude uniformity of the same scale (le-4) and over the same spatial frequency range must be simultaneously obtained to remove all residual speckle in the image plane. We present a design for producing simultaneous wavefront phase and amplitude uniformity to high levels from an input wavefront of lower quality. The design uses a dual Michelson interferometer arrangement incorporating two DMs and a single, fixed mirror (all at pupils) and two beamsplitters: one with unequal (asymmetric) beam splitting and one with symmetric beam splitting. This design allows high precision correction of both phase and amplitude using DMs with relatively coarse steps, and permits a simple correction algorithm.

Detection of extra-solar, and especially terrestrial-like planets, using coronagraphy requires an extremely high level of wavefront correction. For example, the study of Woodruff et al. (2002) has shown that phase uniformity of order 10(exp -4)lambda(rms) must be achieved over the critical range of spatial frequencies to produce the approx. 10(exp 10) contrast needed for the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission. Correction of wavefront phase errors to this level may be accomplished by using a very high precision deformable mirror (DM). However, not only phase but also amplitude uniformity of the same scale (10(exp -4)) and over the same spatial frequency range must be simultaneously obtained to remove all residual speckle in the image plane. We present a design for producing simultaneous wavefront phase and amplitude uniformity to high levels from an input wavefront of modest quality. The design uses a dual Michelson interferometer arrangement incorporating two DMs and a single, fixed mirror (all at pupils) and two beamsplitters: one with unequal (asymmetric) beam splitting and one with symmetric beam splitting. This design allows high precision correction of both phase and amplitude using DMs with relatively coarse steps, is substantially achromatic and permits a simple correction algorithm.

Detection of earth-like planets around other stars using coronagraphy requires the optical beam into the coronagraph to be extremely uniform in both phase and amplitude. Errors in phase can be corrected using a deformable mirror, and error in amplitude can be corrected using a spatial light modulator, both in the pupil plan,a. These corrections can be combined using a Michelson interferometer. If amplitude corrections of only a few percent range are needed, the required accuracy of 10 (circumflex) -4 can be obtained with spatial light modulators with the modest dynamic range of 8 bits.

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) is a versatile, general purpose instrument installed aboard the Hubble Space Telescope in February, 1997. During the following Servicing Mission Orbital Verification (SMOV) period, STIS has been made operational and aligned, and initial checkout and calibration completed. The overall optical performance goals have largely been achieved and a summary of these results is presented.

This is a report on the characterization of the geometric distortion of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) Charge Coupled Devices (CCD) and the STIS Far-Ultraviolet Multi-Anode Microchannel Arrays (FUV-MAMA) detectors when used in imaging mode. We find that the amount of the distortion is fairly small over most of the field. The maximum displacement is 1.66 pixels for the CCD and 2.71 pixels for the FUV-MAMA. This data also allows us to determine the plate scale for both cameras. For the CCD the scale is 0".05071 +/- 0".00007 /pixel. For the FUV-MAMA the scale is 0".02447 +/- 0".00001 /pixel in x and 0".02467 +/-0".00002 /pixel in y.

We have observed the far-ultraviolet spectrum (912-1860 A) of the bright high-excitation planetary nebula NGC 1535 with approximately 3 A resolution using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) aboard the Astro-1 space shuttle pmission in 1990 December. We see strong continuum emission down to the Lyman limit and strong P Cygni profiles from high-excitation lines such as C IV wavelength 1549, N V wavelength 1240, O V wavelength 1371, and O VI wavelength 1035. Below 1150 A strong absorption bands of H2 are seen, which were unanticipated by us because of the low reddening and high galactic latitude of the object and the absence of detected H2 emission in the infrared. We construct model H2 spectra and convolve them to the HUT resolution for comparison with the NGC 1535 data. We find good agreement with a population distribution characterized by a single temperature (T = 300 K) or a two-temperature model (T = 144/500 K), and determine limits on the H2 column density. While both inter-stellar and circumstellar origins for the observed H2 absorption are plausible, we ascribe the material to the planetary nebula in order to estimate the conditions of excitation and place upper limits on the mass of both H2 and H1 in this system. Because the UV transitions are ground-state connected, we determine a stringent upper limit of 0.03 d(sup 2)(sub 1.6) solar mass on the mass of H2, where d(sub 1.6) is the distance relative to an assumed distance of 1.6 kpc. This value is less model-dependent than IR estimates. Along with the central star and nebular masses, these estimates allow us to limit the main-sequence mass of the progenitor star to less than 1.8 solar mass. This upper limit is consistent with a relatively low-mass extended thick disk or Population II progenitor, as expected for an object approximately 1 kpc off the galactic plane.

The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope was used to obtain an FUV spectrum of U Gem about 10 d after the end of an outburst. Most of the FUV emission from U Gem appears to rise from the white dwarf (WD) in the system. Various possibilities to explain the hot component in the present spectrum are explored. It is most likely due to radiation from the boundary-layer region of the WD surface rather than from the accretion disk which exists in U Gem in quiescence. If the standard picture of boundary-layer emission is correct, then the hot component is not due to ongoing accretion onto the WD because the temperature observed is too low. Delayed emission from a viscously heated, differentially rotating atmosphere is argued to be a more valid explanation.

During the Astro-l mission in 1990 December, the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) was used to observe the extreme ultraviolet spectrum (415-912 A) of the hot DA white dwarf GI91-B2B. Absorption by neutral helium shortward of the 504 A He I absorption edge is clearly detected in the raw spectrum. Model fits to the observed spectrum require interstellar neutral helium and neutral hydrogen column densities of 1.45 +/- 0.065 x 10 exp 17/sq cm and 1.69 +/- 0.12 x 10 exp 18/sq cm, respectively. Comparison of the neutral columns yields a direct assessment of the ionization state of the local interstellar cloud surrounding the Sun. The neutral hydrogen to helium ratio of 11.6 +/- 1.0 observed by HUT strongly contradicts the widespread view that hydrogen is much more ionized than helium in the local interstellar medium, a view which has motivated some exotic theoretical explanations for the supposed high ionization.

The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope has been used to obtain the first sub-Lyman-alpha spectrum of an extragalactic SNR, N49, in the LMC. Emission from O VI 1032, 1038 has been detected in this spectral region. The measured fluxes of C IV, semiforbidden O IV, and O VI and the upper limit on N V provide stringent limits on the shocks responsible for the bulk of the O VI production. O VI cannot originate in the shocks with velocities of 140 km/s or less because the postshock temperature is not high enough. The nonradiative main blast wave cannot account for the brightness of the observed O VI emission. The majority of the O VI must originate in an optically faint system of shocks with velocities of 190-270 km/s and preshock densities of 20-40 cu cm. The emission from such high-velocity shocks is dominated by O VI.

A fair UV spectrum of a nonradiative filament in the Cygnus Loop covering the wavelength range 830-1860 A at 3.5-A resolution was obtained using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) on the Astro-1 space shuttle mission. Nonradiative shock models which include a more sophisticated treatment of Lyman line transfer are calculated. It is found that the HUT spectrum can be explained in terms of a shock with velocity 175-185 km/s propagating into a low-density medium. This shock velocity can be reconciled with the 135-km/s width of the broad component of H-alpha in this filament if equilibration of the postshock electron and ion temperatures proceeds much more rapidly than Coulomb equilibration time scales. The time required for a 180-km/s shock to develop a partial recombination zone is short, about 200 yr if n is approximately equal to 2/cu cm. This suggests that the shock is decelerating as it encounters denser material. The current analysis patently favors rapid equilibration of electrons and ions behind the shock.

Observations of the FUV spectrum of the central portion of the Crab Nebula SNR using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) aboard the Astro-1 space shuttle mission in December 1990 are reported. The C IV 1549-A emission line shows two resolved components representing the front and back sides of the shell expanding at roughly +/- 1100 km/s. The He II 1640-A emission line shows only a blueshifted component corresponding to the near side of the shell. The HUT observation is compared to optical emission-line imagery and to archival IUE observations. This comparison indicates that a distribution emission component, consisting of either a number of individually faint filaments or a diffuse component, produces the bulk of the emission seen by HUT. A grid of photoionization models for the Crab Nebula filaments is calculated to infer the range of limits. The differing UV line ratios observed for these components indicates that varying carbon and/or He abundances are present in the observed material.

Results are reported of spectrophotometric observations, made with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), of 77 astronomical sources throughout the far-UV (912-1850 A) at a resolution of about 3 A, and, for a small number of sources, in the extreme UV (415-912 A) beyond the Lyman limit at a resolution of about 1.5 A. The HUT instrument and its performance in orbit are described. A HUT observation of the DA white dwarf G191-B2B is presented, and the photometric calibration curve for the instrument is derived from a comparison of the observation with a model stellar atmosphere. The sensitivity reaches a maximum at 1050 A, where 1 photon/sq cm s A yields 9.5 counts/s A, and remains within a factor of 2 of this value from 912 to 1600 A. The instrumental dark count measured on orbit was less than 0.001 counts/s A.

Results are presented of observations of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1399 in December 1990, which provide measurements of the spectral energy distribution of the elliptical galaxy and allow detection of absorption features in the sub-2000-A UV. The spectrum shows no emission features other than well-known geocoronal lines. Strong Lyman series absorption is evident at the galaxy redshift. Other absorption features attributable to the hot stellar population are detected, but there is no evidence of C IV 1548, 1551 absorption. Thse data are used to set constraints on the origin of the UV upturn in elliptical galaxies. The lack of detectable C IV absorption and the shape of the continuum spectrum exclude star formation with a standard IMF as the sole contributor to the 1550-A flux. The observed continuum flux decreases from 1050 A to the Lyman limit, indicating that the light is dominated by stars with temperatures less than 25,000 K. For star-formation models, this temperature puts the main-sequence turnoff near B0, implying either that star formation ended about 2 x 10 exp 7 yr ago, or that stars are currently forming with a truncated IMF.

The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope on board the Astro-1 shuttle mission was used to observe the 830-1850 A spectrum of the cataclysmic variable Z Camelopardalis near the peak of a normal outburst. The observation reveals a rich absorption-line and continuum spectrum which peaks near 1050 A at a flux of 5 x 10 exp -12 ergs/sq cm/s/A. In the sub-Ly-alpha region, some of the stronger absorption lines are given. No emission is observed below the Lyman limit. The continuum spectrum resembles that of an optically thick accretion disk where the integrated spectrum is constructed by summing stellar model atmospheres. Similar models using summed blackbody spectra fail to approximate the observed continuum.

Observations of the far-ultraviolet spectrum of a bright radiative filament on the eastern edge of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant are described which were made through the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope aboard the Astro-1 Space Shuttle mission in December 1990. Observations include strong emission lines of C III 977, N III 991, and O VI 032, 1038 and many fainter lines. A comparison of this spectrum with shock model calculations indicates that the emission at this position in the Cygnus Loop is dominated by 170 km/s shock wave.