IMI Thompson Valves are delighted to have supplied valves for the Ariane 5 that launched the James Webb Space Telescope into space on Christmas Day 2021. It is the most powerful telescope that has ever been built and will allow astronomers to study the beginning of the universe shortly after the Big Bang.
The project to launch the telescope has taken more than 20 years, involving more than 10,000 people from 14 countries all over the world. The telescope was launched on the Ariane 5 rocket from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. It travelled for 29 days until it was placed into orbit 1.5 million kilometres away from earth.
It is hoped that the telescope will provide a clear picture of the first stars and reveal the atmospheres of exoplanets. It is intended to be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and is 100 times more powerful. The telescope takes its name from James Webb, a former NASA administrator.
IMI Thompson Valves supplied valves for the engine of the Ariane 5 rocket. The valves needed to meet the most stringent of quality checks before being accepted.
The launch was successful due to the huge collective effort of NASA, the European Space Agency, The National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) in France, Arianespace and ArianeGroup. IMI Thomson Valves supplied the parts to ArianeGroup directly.
Courtesy of IMI Thompson Valves.