The James Webb Space Telescope is one of the greatest scientific and engineering achievements of mankind. The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) is the scientific heart of Webb, and it serves as cosmic explorer helping answer questions like : where did we come from, how did the universe begin, are we alone? This book is about the development of NIRCam and its success on orbit, written by its creators.

NIRCam can navigate never seen before regions of space and time. It detects light emitted from objects over 13 billion years ago. It can detect the first starlight ever seen after the dark ages. It allows us to see the amazing birth and death of stars spanning their beautiful life cycles. It helps us understand the secrets of galaxy evolution. With its suite of science instruments, it provides a means to study and characterize planetary systems. With incredible sensitivity and resolution, the combination of NIRCam and Webb give us an unprecedented capability. Together, they provide a powerful tool to search other worlds for the ingredients and existence of life itself.

NIRCam and Webb have ushered in a revolutionary new era in Astronomy. This NIRCam story is intended to be an inspiration for the next generation of engineers and scientists to work in space exploration and seek a better understanding of the universe we all live in. This book is intended to inform, entertain, and make the reader smile. This team has helped thousands of young women to pursue their dreams through public outreach. Go Girl Scouts! The book tells you how the team is inspiring the next generation of brilliant young people to carry on their curiosity into adulthood.

Story of a space camera exploring first light, first stars, first galaxies, planetary systems and the origins of life The makers of NIRCam tell their development story from early ideas, overcoming challenges, to success on-orbit Describes how the NIRCam team paves the way for STEM, Education and Public Outreach. Go Girl Scouts

Autorentext

Bruce Steakley is a retired Technical Fellow from Lockheed Martin and past Chief Systems Engineer and Program Manager of NIRCam. Bruce now grows grapes and makes wine in the Santa Cruz mountains with his wife, Joyce, and they have co-authored the Springer Nature book entitled, "A Quest for Quality Wine, Every Time. A Guide for Root Cause Analysis."

Dr. Richard Vassar is retired from the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, was a Principal Research Scientist, Gravity Probe-B program manager, and NIRCam program manager. Richard received his PH.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.

Larry Burriesci is retired Lockheed Martin and was the NIRCam Product Team Lead. Larry was the LM Infrared Test Facility lead and was the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer Chief Systems Engineer for the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

Dr. Marcia J. Rieke is a Regents Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, Steward Observatory Astronomer, Principal Investigator of NIRCam for the James Webb Space Telescope, 2024 recipient of the Gruber Foundation Cosmology Award, and the outreach coordinator for the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Dr. Alison Nordt is Director of Space Science & Instrumentation at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, member of the National Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Astronautics and is an AIAA Fellow. She was AIAA's Engineer of the Year in 2023. Alison held several roles on the NIRCam program including Program Manager, Integrated Product Team Lead, and Certified Principal Engineer.

Julie Van Campen is the current Webb Telescope Mission Systems Engineer. Former roles on the project included NASA Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) Systems Engineer and the Deputy Commissioning Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.

Joyce Steakley is a retired Specialty Engineering Director from Lockheed Martin with over 30 years of experience in materials and processes, contamination control, operations, and engineering. She was a contamination control lead on the Hubble Space Telescope. She has published papers in the field of spacecraft contamination control, grows grapes and makes wine with Bruce, and is an active adult Girl Scout.

Inhalt

Dedication.- Foreword.- Preface.- Early ideas took shape detectors are sorted and the near infrared science instrument is defined.- Designed built and delivered.- Observatory science instrument integration.- Our future is limitless.