The greatest origin story of all unfolds with the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s launch is a pivotal moment that exemplifies the dedication, innovation, and ambition behind NASA and its partners, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA), but it is only the beginning. The 29 days following liftoff will be an exciting but harrowing time. Thousands of parts must work correctly, in sequence, to unfold Webb and put it in its final configuration, all while it flies through the expanse of space alone, to a destination nearly one million miles away. As the largest and most complex telescope ever sent into space, the James Webb Space Telescope is a technological marvel. By necessity, Webb takes on-orbit deployments to the extreme. Each step can be controlled expertly from the ground, giving Webb’s Mission Operations Center full control to circumnavigate any unforeseen issues with deployment.
The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter (21.3-foot) primary mirror. The telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in 2021.
The Webb telescope will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.
The Webb telescope was formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST); it was renamed in September 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.
3 Comments
This is truly historic.
This is, by far, the most powerful telescope in human history.
If successful, it will greatly advance our knowledge of the universe.
I’m thrilled. I can’t wait.
JWST is a technological marvel, with so many innovations, so much that has never been done before, and it pushes the boundaries of what can be done. Its size alone is an extremely bold gamble.
A lot of people have spent the bulk of their careers on JWST.
And, it almost all comes down to the launch, and the following 30 days.
As nervous as I am, I can only imagine what they are going through.
James Webb Space Telescope,due to powerfull capacity and right positioning in space,will able to observe super massive black holes evolved from the big bang.As the galaxies near the origin of universe had no enough time to form SMBHs from the merge òf stars’.black holes.
I have waited for JWST for over a year,and its finally here.Knowing Hubble to have famous pictures(Hubble deep feild,M87 black hole,ect.)I was thrilled to hear all the capabilities that JWST has and possibilities it has to show us.I really hope that everything goes smoothly and nothing malfunctions.Fingers crossed,and JWST,I can’t wait to see what you find for us.