The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on-ground calibration campaign

The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is one of four science instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) scheduled for launch in 2018. NIRSpec is sensitive in the wavelength range from ~0.6 to 5.0 micron and will be capable of obtaining spectra from more than a 100 objects simultaneously by means of a programmable micro shutter array. It will also provide an integral eld unit for 3D spectroscopy and xed slits for high contrast spectroscopy of individual sources and planet transit observations. We present results obtained during the rst cryogenic instrument testing in early 2011, demonstrating the excellent optical performance of the instrument. We also describe the planning of NIRSpecs forthcoming second calibration campaign scheduled for early 2013.