Before it can study the first stars and galaxies, the observatory must endure a sea voyage, a rocket launch and an all-or-nothing deployment sequence

The Nail-Biting Journey of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Is About to Begin

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2021-09-23 02:30:01

Before it can study the first stars and galaxies, the observatory must endure a sea voyage, a rocket launch and an all-or-nothing deployment sequence in deep space

Earlier this month NASA announced that on December 18, after years of delays, the James Webb Space Telescope will finally leave Earth on a mission to revolutionize astrophysics and cosmology.

But before this $10-billion observatory can begin its work, it must survive a daunting commute that includes a voyage at sea, a rocket launch and a 1.5-million-kilometer flight to its destination: Lagrange Point 2, or L2. Far beyond the orbit of the moon (and out of reach of any near-term rescue mission), L2 is a region where the gravitational tugs of Earth and the sun balance out to create a perfect long-term parking place for telescopes. As Webb leaves our planet and moon behind, it must also deploy key components that were folded up to fit inside its rocket. This high-tension process involves some 178 release mechanisms, each of which must operate flawlessly for the telescope to complete its 40 or so major deployments.

“This is the most complex scientific mission that we've done,” says Nancy Levenson, deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci). “There’s a lot that has to go right.”

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