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James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): 5-Layer Sunshield & 18 Mirrors
21.2×14.2 m kite sunshield membrane, Ø 6.5 m segmented primary mirror on PMBSS truss, and 7.6 m secondary mirror tripod.
Verify structural rigidity and modal frequencies of the JWST observatory, ensuring that solar radiation pressure on the 300 m² sunshield membrane does not induce opto-mechanical misalignment between the 18 primary mirror segments and the secondary reflector dish.
1. Geometry & FEA Mesh
- •5-layer kite sunshield (21.2×14.2 m, z = 0): 4 symmetric quadrants of structured MITC4 quad shell patches (t = 1 mm equivalent membrane)
- •Stiffened by 2 longitudinal Unitized Pallet Structures (UPS) along ±X and 2 Mid-Boom Assemblies (MBA) along ±Y, with catenary perimeter tension cables
- •Spacecraft bus at z = -2.5 to -0.5 m with 4 box corner columns, shear panels, and gimbaled solar array wing (5.0×1.8 m) extending aft along -X
- •Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA): 4 composite columns connecting bus, sunshield hub, and mirror backplane
- •Ø 6.5 m primary mirror in Y-Z plane: 18 hexagonal segments (each meshed with 3 rhombic quad patches, total 54 quads) on a 3D dual-chord PMBSS space frame
- •Secondary mirror tripod: 3 composite struts (L = 7.6 m) converging at secondary mirror hub (x = 7.6 m, z = 4.5 m) with Ø 0.74 m circular reflector dish
- •Full model: 326 nodes, 468 beam elements, 178 shell quads, 1,932 active DOFs
2. Loads & Boundary Conditions
- •Launch vehicle adapter ring anchor nodes at z = -2.5 m fixed in all 6 DOFs
- •Solar radiation photon pressure p = -10 Pa on sunshield membrane + 1g gravity/maneuver check
- •Zero skips, zero crosses, zero duplicate nodes, and zero shellcheck errors
3. Simulation Results & Findings
- ✓Maximum tip displacement |u| = 192.8 mm at the outer mid-boom spreader tips under 1g inertia test
- ✓Primary mirror backplane exhibits exceptional structural rigidity with segment relative displacements under 0.08 mm
- ✓First fundamental frequency f₁ = 1.312 Hz (sunshield mid-boom out-of-plane flapping mode), f₂ = 1.324 Hz (sunshield in-plane sway)
- ✓Secondary mirror mast first elastic frequency is decoupled at 5.80 Hz; overall buckling load factor λ₁ = 63.49
Direct visualization of the mechanical decoupling between the ultra-flexible Kapton sunshield membrane and the micro-rigid beryllium optical bench, accessible to engineers and educators worldwide in a single click.
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