Skip to main content

The James Webb Space Telescope is now fully deployed.

The $10 billion NASA observatory unfolded the second "wing" of its massive primary mirror today (Jan. 8), bringing the light-collecting structure up to its full size and marking the end of the mission's long, risky and ultra-complex deployment phase. 

As the final mirror segment folded in place just before 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT). Just under three hours later, at 1:17 p.m. EST (1817 GMT), the mirror was locked into place as cheers and high-fives erupted at its mission control center in Baltimore, Maryland.<> <


After Webb launched into space on Dec. 25, the normally clean-shaven Zurbuchen pledged not to shave until its hair-raising deployment was complete. 

"I fully expect to shave today," Zurbuchen said. 

The mission team, for their part, seemed to ease the tension of today's final deployment by piping in music to their mission operations center in the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Among their music selections was "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward as the mirror wing first folded into place.

"I just feel this kind of glow, you know, in my chest right now just seeing that mirror deployed all together," said NASA astrophysicist Michelle Thaller, who hosted the agency's live Webb mirror deployment webcast. The mirror's size will give Webb and humanity "a chance to see the universe as it was perhaps only a 100 million years after the start of the Big Bang."



Today, NASA achieved another engineering milestone decades in the making!" NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement on Twitter. "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."

Webb is optimized to view the cosmos in infrared light, wavelengths that we feel as heat. The telescope's optics and instruments must be kept extremely cold to pick up these faint heat signatures, so Webb sports a five-layer sunshield the size of a tennis court to reflect and radiate away solar energy.

The fully extended sunshield is far too big to fit in the protective payload fairing of any currently operational rocket, so the structure launched in a highly compact configuration. So did Webb's 21.3-foot-wide (6.5 meters) primary mirror, which consists of 18 gold-plated hexagonal segments arrayed across a central post and two side wings.

Webb's deployment phase was therefore incredibly involved. 

"The Webb observatory has 50 major deployments … and 178 release mechanisms to deploy those 50 parts," Webb Mission Systems Engineer Mike Menzel, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in an explainer video called "29 Days on the Edge" that the agency posted in October. 

"Every single one of them must work," Menzel said. "Unfolding Webb is hands-down the most complicated spacecraft activity we’ve ever done." 

Congratulations, @NASAWebb! You are fully deployed! 🥳Stay tuned over the coming months as the space telescope reaches its destination of Lagrange point 2 and prepares to #UnfoldTheUniverse.
.0866772110/">CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

China Makes History Again: Chang'e-6 Returns with Groundbreaking Moon Samples

In a remarkable achievement, China has successfully collected samples from the far side of the moon, marking a significant milestone in space exploration. The Chang'e-6 mission, launched on May 3, touched down in the Apollo crater within the vast South Pole-Aitken basin on June 1. During its brief but productive stay, the spacecraft gathered approximately 2 kilograms of lunar material using a scoop and drill. The samples, now stored in an ascent vehicle, are expected to return to Earth on June 25, landing in Inner Mongolia. This historic achievement not only demonstrates China's space program prowess but also provides scientists with a unique opportunity to unravel the mysteries of the moon's formation and evolution.   Achievements: - *First-ever samples from the far side*: Chang'e-6 successfully collects lunar material from the moon's less-explored hemisphere. - *Second successful farside landing*: China builds on its 2019 achievement wi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fram2 Mission Breakdown – Real or CGI?

The Fram2 mission has sparked intense debates online, with some celebrating it as a breakthrough in private spaceflight while others dismiss it as CGI trickery. Launched by SpaceX on March 31, 2025, Fram2 became the first human spaceflight to enter a polar orbit, passing over both the North and South Poles. Unlike previous missions that remained in lower latitudes, this trajectory provided a unique perspective of Earth, making the footage appear different from what most people are used to seeing. The crew consisted of private individuals, not career astronauts, including a cinematographer, a crypto entrepreneur, a robotics expert, and a polar explorer. They were not just tourists; they conducted real scientific experiments, including studying radiation exposure, atmospheric data collection, and how certain materials behave in microgravity. Despite this, conspiracy theorists quickly labeled the mission as fake, claiming the footage looked “too perfect” and accusing SpaceX of using a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Starship’s Next Launch Could Change Space Travel Forever – Here’s What You Need to Know

 The next launch of SpaceX’s Starship is just around the corner, and it’s already generating massive buzz across the space community and tech world. Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, is designed to take humanity to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This upcoming test flight will mark another bold step in Elon Musk’s mission to make space travel not only possible but routine. As SpaceX continues to innovate at a pace unmatched by any other space agency or private company, the stakes for this launch are incredibly high. The Starship system, consisting of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, is fully reusable and represents a fundamental shift in how we think about spaceflight logistics and economics. The launch is scheduled to take place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Engineers are finalizing preparations, including full wet dress rehearsals and static fire tests. SpaceX is waiting for the green light from the FAA, and once that happens, ...
Post a Comment
Read more