Webb telescope reaches final destination, a million miles from Earth

In this file photo taken on August 30, 2007, a NASA artist's rendition shows the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA said Monday that the James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at its parking spot a million miles away, bringing it a step closer to its mission.

The observatory was able to reach the second lagrange point, or L2, in five minutes by firing its thrusters.

The burn added 3.6 miles per hour to the overall speed and brought it into a "halo" around 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

Bill Nelson said "Webb, welcome home!"

The first generation of galaxies that formed after the Bigbang will be peered back in time by the summer with its high resolution instruments.

As it moves around the Sun, it will be in line with the Earth, allowing it to protect its equipment from heat and light.

The cold side of the giant parasol needs the Sun, Earth and Moon to be in the same direction to offer effective protection.

The third maneuver since the launch of the Ariane 5 rocket on December 25 was the thruster firing.

This mid-course correction burn put the satellite into a final elliptical path around the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, on January 24, 2022, nearly 1 million miles away from the Earth. Credit: NASA.

If the rocket thrust was too high, it wouldn't be able to turn around and fly back to Earth, as it would expose its optics to the Sun, overheating and destroying them.

To make up for the difference, it was decided to slightly underburn the rocket firing and use the telescope's own thrusters.

The burns went so well that the observatory should be able to exceed its five-year minimum life span, according to the manager.

"We think that's probably a good ballpark, but we're trying to refine that," he said. It is possible that a future mission could go there and refuel.

One of the most expensive scientific platforms ever built is expected to cost NASA nearly $10 billion, making it the most expensive platform ever built.

The halo is in the sky.

While Hubble is in the vicinity of the Earth, the pull from the Sun and Earth will be balanced by the force of the rotating system.

An object at one of the five points will remain stable and not fall into the gravity well of the Sun and Earth, which requires only a little fuel for adjustments.

There is a map showing the location of a point 1.5 million kms from Earth.

In order to complete a cycle every six months, he will sit at L2 and go around it at a distance similar to that between the Earth and the Moon.

The telescope will be able to generate power from its solar panels.

The European Space Agency's Herschel and Planck observatory are two previous missions to L2.

The Deep Space Network will allow continuous communications with Earth via three large antennas in Australia, Spain and California.

The process of unfolding the golden mirror that will collect signals from the first stars and galaxies that formed a few hundred million years after the Universe began expanding has been completed by NASA.

The Universe's expansion has stretched the visible and ultraviolet light emitted by the very first objects, and now it arrives in the form of IR, which is equipped to detect with unprecedented clarity.

The study of distant planets, known as exoplanets, is part of its mission.

Next steps include calibrating the scientific instruments. The first images are expected to be transmitted in June or July.

2022.

The telescope reached its final destination a million miles from Earth on January 25.

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