Why doesn’t the James Webb Space Telescope have any cameras onboard?

The public is now used to seeing space up close, thanks to cameras watching everything from satellites deploying to a spacesuit-clad “dummy” cruising in a Tesla — so why doesn’t NASA’s giant new observatory have any cameras on board?

It has to do with light and heat, Julie Van Campen, deputy commissioning manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Center in Maryland, said during a live broadcast Tuesday (Jan. 4) showing the last stages of the tricky sunshield deployment.