Webb Space Telescope Primary Mirror Deployment. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Engineers have begun the final stage of Webb’s major structural deployments: the unfolding of its two primary mirror wings. These side panels, which were folded back for launch, each hold three of the observatory’s 18 hexagonal, gold-coated mirror segments.
The team is beginning today with the mirror wing on the port (left) side of the observatory. Engineers must first release mechanisms that held the wing in place for launch, in order to allow the wing to deploy. The panel then rotates into position, a motor-driven process that takes about five minutes. Once the wing is extended, engineers begin a meticulous, two-hour process to securely latch it into place.
The deployment of the second primary mirror wing, planned for tomorrow, will follow the same process.
What good are the mirrors in this nobody’s there to look into them to do their makeup. Do the mirrors work as cameras to transmit info film back to earth control labs. The telescope can’t see in the other side of the panel from the looks of things. It is more base outreach to gain viewing data. But you’re still limited in seeing all ways to know what is on either side of the planet(s) in orbiting to know how far the solar system stretches out and how many space multiplication universe systems there are if spreading galaxies each with a solar centre or some varied arrangement of planetary motion with stars moons and other smaller bodies or space oddities.i don’t know how you and others logged all that other data as if you had visual taped evidence to say what existed in the universe. So many have written globs of nothing provable about this. TNYYMMA. Is my long ago questioning with mirror discussion what brought about this engineered unit not that big as a tennis court size.