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NASA is preparing to launch the James Webb Space Telescope. Astronomers are at mission control.
ARI SHAPIRO,HOST:
The telescope is ready to go into space. The Hubble Space Telescope is smaller and less powerful than the James Webb Space Telescope. The new telescope is scheduled to blast off tomorrow morning at 7:21 Eastern time, and has been in the works for decades. Joe Palca is here for a preview of tomorrow's launch activities. Hi, Joe.
Ari, byline: Hi, Joe.
Where is this telescope going, and where is it headed?
The European Space Agency spaceport is in French Guiana. The Ariane 5 rocket is big enough to lift this enormous craft almost 15,000 pounds.
Wow.
It is going for a spot in space a million miles away. It's easy to stay in one place because of the special properties of this point, where the Sun and Earth gravity balance each other out. It's a place that can keep in touch with NASA's ground stations around the clock.
What is it that Hubble can't do?
A lot. The main mirror is larger than Hubble. It's 21 feet across as opposed to 9 feet across, and the bigger the mirror, the better. Light from stars is like a rain, and you would think of a telescope as a bucket. The bigger the bucket, the more rain you catch, and the bigger the mirror. This is a big deal because this telescope is going to tell us a lot about why the universe looks the way it does. For example, if he could look at the atmospheres of distant planets, he could see which ones might be able to sustain life. Things that were just starting to take shape in the early days of the universe will be able to be seen. The Space Telescope Science Institute has an astronomer named Swara Ravindranath.
The very first galaxies and the earliest stages of galaxy assembly will be shown by the astronomer.
It's going to be like seeing baby pictures of the universe soon after everything came into being.
It's incredible. Hubble had a problem that was discovered after it was launched. They had to send people to fix it. Is there any concern that something similar might happen with Webb?
Yes, in a word. There is no repair mission at this point, and people are terrified that that is a possibility. There is no way to get astronauts out that far. A lot of things have to work right. A tennis court the size of a giant sun shield has to unfold. It's there to keep the craft cool. It's an incredibly complex process to unfold this thing. The so-called simple things can go wrong. There's no power if the solar panels don't deploy correctly. You can't keep talking to Earth if the antenna isn't locked into position. It's not easy to go wrong.
How long will it take for the telescope to unfold before we know if it's safe or not?
It's about two weeks to deploy. The process of unfurling the sun shield and partially folding the mirrors is a multi-day process. It is kind of cool looking. It's not a telescope in a tube. It's all naked, so you can see what's in front of you. I've seen it on the ground. The brakes have to work when it gets to its parking place because it also has to stop when it gets to it. It's a rocket engine. It has to cool down. It's only then that people will know that it will work.
I'm starting to understand why it's so heavy. If everything goes according to plan, when will we see photos?
It's a six-month process, and then they test and make sure everything's working correctly. The images should start arriving. From what they say, it should be very impressive. I'm looking forward to it.
We'll keep our fingers crossed. Joe Palca thanks for the preview.
You're welcome.
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