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Spinoff story
Webb Telescope Made Simulation Software Better
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Developers of the James Webb Space Telescope relied heavily on simulation software, work that helped advance the whole field of integrated modeling. In particular, the Goddard Space Flight Center project informed advances to Zemax OpticStudio, which is now sold by Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Ansys Inc., and has been used to design precision endoscopes and a thermal imager to detect COVID-19 exposures, among other optics applications.