NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has reached its final destination. Let's celebrate the team that got it there (op-ed)

Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen is an associate administrator at NASA. He contributed an article to Space.com.

The best time to see a new speck of light in the sky is around midnight. This blurry speck, dim as it may be, small as it may be, represents the unity of thousands of people who worked together to place it in the heavens.

The most magnificent space telescope ever devised by humans is reflected down to us. After being folded up into a rocket and launched into space on Christmas Day, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has now arrived at its destination, fully deployed into its magnificent final form. Like a butterfly leaving behind its Earth-bound caterpillar shape, a new, larger and more beautiful observatory transformed over the course of a weeks-long journey in space. From its new location, it will be able to see the universe for years to come.

The transformation is complex. A five-layer sun shield was unfurled with incredible precision. The mirror extended out on the tripod. On January 8, the team finished unfolding the largest mirror ever flown in space, composed of 18 gold-colored, honey-comb-like hexagons. It took 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 And it worked.

The Christmas launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

We did it. You can see the light in the sky because of the incredible team that did it.

To the untrained eye, breakthrough innovation and exploration looks very close to impossible. The original goal was to look back in time to see the first stars and galaxies in the universe. We had a lot of supporters, but also a lot of people who thought it couldn't be done. The first show of daring from this mission was because of having the courage to set that lofty, outrageous goal 25 years ago.

A team then had to take that vision and turn it into reality: the biggest, most powerful, most complex space science observatory the world has ever seen. To do that, we needed inventors and implementors. We needed visionaries and leaders who focus on realism of technology, schedule and cost. We needed both decades-long experience and youthful, unfettered enthusiasm. And we needed commercial and government stakeholders together with international partners, all aligned behind one purpose: to achieve this outlandish science goal. Truly, the only way big goals are achieved is by diverse teams that come together as one.

It was at times a tough path. But silently and without much attention, an excellent and united team formed, which kept learning from mistakes and remained focused with tunnel vision on its goal. Through adversity and disappointments, this team learned the hard way that excellence is not the absence of errors, but the steadfast focus on improvement. True excellence is almost never about words, but about actions. 

This telescope is in space, fully unfolded, and reflecting the sunshine back to us. After cooling down to its operating temperatures and setting up all systems, the telescope will be ready to reveal a new vision of the universe. As we wait for the first-light images, we admire the team that got us there.

I no longer believe in the importance of superstars to achieve, as I have seen teams land on Mars, fly the first Mars helicopter, launch and operate high-tech missions that protect and improve life on Earth, and now build and deploy the world's most magnificent space telescope. I believe in the power of diverse teams to overcome obstacles.

I am so hopeful that I am a million miles away from its new home. When you see that small speck of light, I want you to know that the success we can achieve when the right people work together is not only for the future of space exploration, but for the big global challenges we worry about each and every day. Big goals can be hard to achieve. A team with a lot of determination decides that they will create success. It took a long time for us to see that dim light in the sky.

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