All the updates on The James Webb Telescope

The James Webb telescope finally launched on Christmas Day, and since then, it has completed various deployment sequences with more on the way! (Image Credit: NASA)

It finally launched! On December 25^th, the James Webb telescope blasted off into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Since then, the telescope deployed its solar array, preventing further battery power consumption by supplying two kW of power to the spacecraft's electrical systems. Webb also completed two mid-course section burns and released its high-gain antenna platform, allowing communication through NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). Then, the telescope lowered both the forward and aft pallet structure, designed to support the sunshield. You can keep track of Webb's progress on NASA's page.

Four days later, the deployable tower extended, allowing the telescope mirror and instruments to separate from the spacecraft bus. The telescope could then be isolated from heat and vibrations sourced from the bus. Such an extension also provided the other larger components, such as the primary mirror and sunshield, with ample room to deploy through complex movements.

On December 30^th, Webb deployed its momentum flap and fired all 107 sunshield release mechanisms on cue, which also freed each sunshield membrane. A day later, it deployed two mid-booms to unfold its massive five-layer sunshield into a diamond formation. "Shine bright like a diamond. With the successful deployment of our right sunshield mid-boom, or 'arm,' Webb's sunshield has now taken on its diamond shape in space," team members wrote on Webb's Twitter account.

On day ten, the Webb telescope deploys the secondary mirror, which collects light from the 18 primary mirrors, as shown above. (Image Credit: NASA)

Even then, day ten could prove to be the most exciting when Webb deploys its telescope by unfolding and setting the tripod hosting its secondary mirror into position. The secondary mirror is an important instrument on the telescope because it collects light from Webb's 18 primary mirrors into a focused beam. Heidi Hammel, a mission scientist, says, "For me, personally, that's the scariest part of the whole deployment sequence, the secondary mirror … If we don't have a secondary mirror, we don't get any light from space into our cameras and spectrographs. There's nothing."

The primary mirror, consisting of side panels that hold three mirror segments, is expected to unfold and lock into place on day twelve. All 18 primary mirror segments move out of their launch configuration once the mirror wings lock into place on day 25, a process that takes 10 days. Then, 126 precise actuators position and flex each mirror, which could take months to complete. Afterward, weeks of testing are planned so the telescope won't be fully operational for scientific purposes during those six months. 

The James Webb telescope is expected to be fully operational for scientific purposes in six months. (Image Credit: NASA)

On the 29^th day, Webb will fire its thrusters to enter the L2 orbit, located nearly one million miles away from Earth. Then, testing begins. Since the primary mirror is three times larger than Hubble's mirror, it was built into 18 separate segments, making it easier to prepare for launch.

We should expect to see the first images from Webb sometime during summer 2022. Since it's an infrared telescope, the focus is on spectroscopy. Hubble captured images in visible light. Infrared also provides many benefits because it allows Webb to look deeper into the universe.

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