NASA’s Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone as Mirror Unfolds – IOTW Report

NASA’s Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone as Mirror Unfolds

WUWT:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team fully deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations.

A joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency, the Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.

“Today, NASA achieved another engineering milestone decades in the making. While the journey is not complete, I join the Webb team in breathing a little easier and imagining the future breakthroughs bound to inspire the world,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The James Webb Space Telescope is an unprecedented mission that is on the precipice of seeing the light from the first galaxies and discovering the mysteries of our universe. Each feat already achieved and future accomplishment is a testament to the thousands of innovators who poured their life’s passion into this mission.”

The two wings of Webb’s primary mirror had been folded to fit inside the nose cone of an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket prior to launch. After more than a week of other critical spacecraft deployments, the Webb team began remotely unfolding the hexagonal segments of the primary mirror, the largest ever launched into space. This was a multi-day process, with the first side deployed Jan. 7 and the second Jan. 8. MORE

10 Comments on NASA’s Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone as Mirror Unfolds

  1. Seriously, I’m really looking forward to its deep-field, infrared images.

    “It’s all stars!” (galaxies)

    Cosmologists hardest hit. Back to the drawing board!

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  2. I’m all for the space program, but at the risk of sounding cynical where are the accolades for the muslime contributions. For without them we would still be stargazing from the surface of the earth with the naked eye. Right Barry?

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