Alex Wilkins
The James Webb Space Telescope has been used.
CSA, CNES, Arianespace, NASA.
After a nail-biting launch on Christmas Day, the James Webb Space Telescope has begun its mission to image the birth of the universe.
On December 25th, the JWST blasted off from French Guiana on top of an Ariane 5 rocket. It separated from the rocket around 27 minutes later and deployed its solar array, which powers its propulsion and communication systems, as well as scientific instruments.
Two course-correction burns were performed, firing rocket thrusters to push the JWST towards its correct location, 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth.
The accuracy of the Ariane 5 rocket means that the JWST will have enough propellant to last longer than expected, according to NASA engineers. The JWST will be too far away to service, so leftover fuel is a bonus.
The unfolding and tensioning of the sun shield is the most critical maneuver of the telescope.
The story of the universe will be rewritten by the James Webb telescope.
The shield is made up of five layers of Kapton and is as wide as a tennis court. It is a multistep process with more than 140 release mechanisms. NASA engineers are confident of success if these don't execute correctly, but the mission could be in danger if that happens.
During a press conference on 3 January, the project manager said he didn't expect any drama. The best thing for operations is boring. Over the next three days, we anticipate to be boring.
The first three layers were tightened and the rest of the sun shield is expected to be tensioned today. Depending on the data that the engineers receive on the ground, the sequence could take longer.
NASA engineers have had to adapt to changing conditions aboard the JWST like fine- tuning its power systems and accounting for higher than expected temperatures inside the sun shield's motor due to incident sunlight.
We had a week to see how the observatory behaves in space. Mike Menzel at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said that it's not uncommon to learn certain characteristics of your spaceship once you're in flight.
The deployment of the telescope's mirrors is the next big task after the sun shield is in place. The primary mirrors will be unfolded on 8 and 9 January and a secondary mirror will be extended in front of them.
If everything goes according to plan, the JWST will be on to L2 by the end of January. The telescope will be ready to image the universe in five months.
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