Extroardinary.
Unboxing Vid
Step aside, influencers. This week's coolest unboxing video isn't about a gadget or toy. It's the James Webb Space Telescope, an orbital observatory so advanced some experts believe it will discover evidence of alien life.
The giant telescope must still reach space before all of this can happen. It was first shipped from California's Northrop Grumman facility through the Panama Canal. NASA leadership worried that it could be stolen. The telescope finally arrived in French Guiana on December 5th, where it will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Officials towed it to an ESA spaceport where they donned protective gear before removing it from its huge box. It's impossible to do justice to it so we recommend watching the video:
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The most advanced space telescope ever made is over 10 meters tall and six tons in weight.
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Webb's launch campaign involves over 100 specialists, according to the ESA in this weeks video. Each team will prepare the launch vehicle and telescope separately until they are one team that can join forces to lift off the telescope.
The telescope's technical capabilities are extraordinary, but it is not without controversy. James Webb, NASA administrator, was the one who supervised the agency in an era when it used to conduct witch hunts against homosexual employees.
NASA scientists and others objected to the name. It was imposed on the project shortly after it began, but to no avail, leading one NASA advisor to resign.
The telescope will go to space next month, despite its problematic name. However, scientists from around the globe are continuing to work on the telescope, and the controversy surrounding its naming doesn't diminish the incredible scientific research that will be conducted with it.
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NASA Refuses To Rename Giant Homophobic Telescope
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