Colorado Springs, CO USA, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Space Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1983, offering education, collaboration and innovation for the global space ecosystem, today announced that Northrop Grumman has gifted a full-sized scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) to be permanently displayed at Space Foundation Discovery Center in Colorado Springs.
The announcement was made at the opening ceremony of Space Foundation’s 39th annual Space Symposium, being held at The Broadmoor. Valued at $1 million, the full-scale model traveled the world for over a decade to raise awareness of Webb’s groundbreaking engineering and historic mission. The full-scale model’s new home, Space Foundation Discovery Center, is a hands-on, interactive space and science center focused on inspiring, educating and preparing the next generation of explorers and innovators. It also reaches a global audience through its International Teacher Liaisons program and distant learning technologies.
"The James Webb Space Telescope is a gamechanger! Northrop Grumman's generous gift of this full-scale model to Space Foundation will undoubtedly inspire and educate future generations about the wonders of space exploration,” said Heather Pringle, Space Foundation CEO. “We are grateful for Northrop Grumman's commitment to advancing space education and thrilled to embark on Webb’s Education Mission, which will enable us to expand our reach and impact even further."
“From New York to Paris, this life-size replica of the Webb Telescope inspired communities around the world and invited them to explore the cosmos together and better understand the origins of the universe,” said Chris Adams, vice president and general manager, strategic space systems, Northrop Grumman. “Today we mark a new chapter and make Colorado Springs the new home of Webb on Earth so it may continue to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers.”
As the prime contractor on NASA’s Webb Telescope, Northrop Grumman led the design, development, total systems integration and prepared the observatory for launch. Today, Northrop Grumman supports Webb’s operations and maintenance as the observatory continues to discover observations never before seen of faraway stars and galaxies.
To learn more about Northrop Grumman’s role on NASA’s Webb Telescope, please visit https://www.northropgrumman.com/Webb.
Space Foundation is embarking on a capital campaign to support the new Webb Education Mission, which will provide a new permanent home for the three-story-tall artifact and develop programming aimed at inspiring students around the world.
To learn more about Webb’s Education Mission, please visit https://discoverspace.org/Discover/James-Webb-Space-Telescope-Exhibit.
To watch the video announcement with Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/WebbAnnouncement.
About Space Foundation Discovery Center
Space Foundation Discovery Center is a hands-on, interactive space and science center focused on inspiring, educating and preparing the next generation of explorers and innovators in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Partnerships with government, educational institutions, and commercial enterprises support science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) exhibits and programming including:
- El Pomar Space Gallery
- Boeing Additive Manufacturing Space Lab
- Northrop Grumman Science Center, featuring Science On a Sphere®
- Lockheed Martin Space Education Center, including the Mars Robotics Lab and the Education Activities Center
To learn more about Space Foundation Discovery Center, visit https://discoverspace.org/.
About Space Foundation
Space Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1983, offering education, collaboration and information for the global space ecosystem. Driven by partnerships, Space Foundation unites the entire spectrum of stakeholders — business, government, education and local communities — through support from corporate members, sponsors, fundraising and grants. Visit Space Foundation at www.SpaceFoundation.org, and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
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Rich Cooper Space Foundation (202) 596-0714 rcooper@spacefoundation.org Omar Torres Northrop Grumman (424) 237-4704 omar.torres@ngc.com
