![]() “We wanted a science rationale that would resist the test of time,” says Massimo Stiavelli. That is still the dream, partly because it’s such an ambitious goal. One of Webb’s original goals was to study galaxies like our own Milky Way. The entire sequence, including getting the science instruments ready, will take about six months. The telescope must now complete a complicated series of unfolding steps before it can observe the cosmos. But there’s one silver lining: Science marched on.įor the James Webb Space Telescope, getting into space was just step one. “I don’t think we ever imagined it would be this long,” says Freedman. More recently, shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic also pushed the launch back. This mistake damaged valves in the propulsion system. For instance, someone used the wrong cleaning solvent on the telescope. Other slowdowns were because of human errors. The project was delayed several times because building and testing the spacecraft took so long. Those pieces are coated with a thin layer of gold to boost reflectivity. The 18 honeycomb-shaped mirror segments are made of beryllium, which is lightweight but tough. Engineers seen working on the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror. The telescope would also need a foldable sun shield. Scientists would have to design a telescope mirror that could fold. No available launch vehicles could carry it. But no mirror that size had ever flown in space. ![]() Ideally, the telescope to follow Hubble would have a mirror at least six meters (20 feet) wide. The more light a telescope can collect, the farther it can see into space. A bigger mirror would be able to collect more light. ![]() Hubble’s mirror is about 2.4 meters, or eight feet, wide. Scientists also wanted the telescope after Hubble to have an even bigger mirror. That would complement Hubble’s ability to see ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light. Astronomers wanted the newer telescope to see light at infrared wavelengths. The telescope was first dreamed up in 1989 as a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, which was about to launch. Webb’s strange design was always part of the plan. The stabilization flap keeps the machine from veering off course. Webb’s antenna helps it send data to scientists on Earth. The telescope’s solar panels, exposed to the sun, convert light to electricity to power the instruments. This shield protects the telescope’s mirrors from light and heat from the sun, moon and Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope’s sun shield spans the length of a tennis court. “But I think it was really worth the wait.” She’s a cosmologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois. “It’s been over 25 years,” says Wendy Freedman. And the James Webb Space Telescope could be a great tool to help answer them. Those recent advances have raised big questions about the universe. (This is a mysterious force pushing the universe to expand.) Astronomers also hadn’t yet discovered exoplanets - planets orbiting other stars. Back when scientists first imagined this telescope, they hadn’t yet discovered dark energy. But you know what has? The science that Webb can dig into. The telescope’s basic design hasn’t changed much over the years. Explainer: Telescopes see light - and sometimes ancient history It is the largest and most complex telescope ever sent into orbit. Finally, in December, the Webb telescope blasted off into space. So the launch date got pushed back by more than a decade. ![]() But the telescope was more difficult and costly than anyone expected. Scientists have been planning this mission since 1989. The James Webb Space Telescope has been a long time coming. ![]()
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