Spacewatch: Nasa’s Webb telescope mirror alignment continues

Three of the seven stages have been completed to get the mirror into alignment.

On 25 February, the mirror segments were put in place. The images produced by the segments have been united to form a single image.

It is the beginning of the segments working together. The reflective surfaces are controlled by six motors that can move and tilt.

After the primary mirror was deployed on January 19th, ground crews began commanding the motors to get the segments into line. 18 people directed unfocused starlight into a camera.

The segments have been tilted so that the individual images fall on top of one another, after they were moved so each image was focused.

The segments are aligned with the science instruments. It is likely to take until late spring. The first images from the telescope are expected in the summer.