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NASA’s massive new observatory has notched another milestone. After nearly a full month in space, the James Webb Space Telescope, also known as JWST or Webb, is nearly at the end of its deployment work. The complicated series of deployments has seen the telescope transform from its tightly-folded launch configuration to what looks like a … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope achieved another major milestone today, successfully extending its secondary mirror as it continues to sail seamlessly through its never-before-conducted deployment sequence on the way to its destination. The 2.4-foot-wide (0.74 meters) secondary mirror sits attached to a tripod opposite the main mirror. Its task is to concentrate the light collected … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed all five layers of its tennis-court-sized sunshield, a prerequisite for the telescope’s science operations and the most nerve-wracking part of its risky deployment. The challenging procedure, which required careful tensioning of each of the five hair-thin layers of the elaborate sunshield structure was a seamless success today (Jan. 4). … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope fully deployed its tennis-court sized sunshield Tuesday, a critical milestone for the success of its mission to study every phase of cosmic history, NASA said. “All five layers of the sunshield are fully tensioned,” said an announcer at the observatory’s control center in Baltimore, where team members cheered, a … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed all five layers of its tennis-court-sized sunshield, a prerequisite for the telescope’s science operations and the most nerve-wracking part of its risky deployment. The challenging procedure, which required careful tensioning of each of the five hair-thin layers of the elaborate sunshield structure was a seamless success today … Read more
One of the James Webb Space Telescope’s most nail-biting deployment steps is safely in the books. The $10 billion observatory unfurled its huge sunshield on Friday (Dec. 31), carefully unfolding the five-layer structure by sequentially deploying two booms. “Shine bright like a diamond. With the successful deployment of our right sunshield mid-boom, or ‘arm,’ Webb’s … Read more
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is three days into the deployment of its massive sunshield — and it still has about three days to go. The $10 billion Webb launched on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) to seek out heat signals from the early universe. To pick up these faint signals, the observatory’s optics and instruments must … Read more
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope removes the covers from its sunshield in this animation of the critical deployment step that occurred in space on Dec. 30, 2021. (Image credit: NASA) The James Webb Space Telescope has unwrapped its sunshield, crossing another important item off of its lengthy and risky deployment to-do list. After successfully extending … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope is one step closer to finishing the deployment of its massive sunshield. On Wednesday (Dec. 29), the huge new space observatory successfully extended its deployable tower assembly (DTA), a 48-inch-long (1.2 meters) shaft that connects the telescope’s two halves, NASA officials said in a statement. The James Webb Space Telescope‘s … Read more