CRB's MEP Design Helps NASA's Webb Telescope Deliver Stunning Images of the Universe

For nearly 40 years, CRB has built an international reputation for innovation in life sciences and food and beverage manufacturing. Turns out we know a few things about powering space communication, too.

CRB’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) credentials were tapped for the massive upgrade of the world’s three largest rotational antennas—part of the Deep Space Network that brought images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and this week revealed the deepest infrared image of the universe to this point. Filled with sharp and colorful outlines of a cosmos brimming with thousands of galaxies, the images are stoking the imagination of scientists and space geeks everywhere.

CRB designed the MEP upgrades required by the 70-meter antennas of the DSN, whose dishes in California, Spain and Australia have been in communication with Webb to bring the fascinating images back from deep space. CRB’s designs were critical to support the movement of the antennas as well as their ability to tolerate the massive power load required to communicate with the Webb telescope from deep space.

In 2021, the antennas tracked NASA’s Mars lander Curiosity as it touched down and eventually began exploring the planet’s deep interior.

In 2018, the antennas tracked NASA’s Voyager 2 launched in 1977, as only the second spacecraft to have left our solar system as it passed through the heliopause.

About CRB

CRB is a leading provider of sustainable engineering, architecture, construction and consulting solutions to the global life sciences and food and beverage industries. Our more than 1,600 employees provide world class solutions that drive success and positive change for our clients, our people and our communities. CRB is a privately held company with a rich history of serving clients throughout the world, consistently striving for the highest standard of technical knowledge, creativity and execution.