\u00a9 NASA The primary mirror of NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope consists of 18 hexagonal mirrors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMission launch<\/h3>\n After various construction challenges and delays, the JWST finally arrived at its launch site in October 2021, travelling by boat from California to Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.<\/p>\n
The JWST was launched on 25 December 2021 at 7:20 am EST (12:20 UTC) on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, after roughly 25 years of development.<\/p>\n
Following its successful launch, the JWST deployed its complex sunshield on 4 January 2022. The sunshield is a critical feature that the observatory will utilise to keep its instruments cold over the course of the mission. The unfolding of this sunshield marked the end of one of the most complicated stages of deployment that the observatory had to achieve to function properly while in space.<\/p>\n
On 8 January 2022, JWST deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, officially and successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations. JWST requires the unfolding mirror as, due to its enormity, it could not fit in the launch shroud of current rockets. The mirror must be large to observe the faint light from the first star-forming regions and very small details at infrared wavelengths. The mirrors are gold-coated, again to optimise them for infrared light.<\/p>\n
Final destination – L2<\/h3>\n On 24 January 2022, the JWST reached its final destination and settled into its concluding orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point, also known as L2. As the Hubble Space Telescope orbits Earth, the JWST will instead orbit the Sun, 1.5 million km away from Earth, at L2. The JWST\u2019s orbit will keep the telescope aligned with Earth as our planet orbits the Sun. This alignment is important as it protects the telescope from the heat released by the Sun, Earth, and Moon.<\/p>\n
The L2 destination point is ideal for JWST because the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth will help to ensure that the spacecraft does not need to rely on using much thrust to remain in orbit. It will also allow the telescope to have an unobstructed view of the Universe, unlike Hubble which moves in and out of the Earth\u2019s shadow every 90 minutes. In addition, the position of JWST also means that a continuous and stable communication between teams on Earth and the space observatory is possible using the Deep Space Network. JWST will orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point for a period of six months.<\/p>\n
The next stage of the JWST mission, while orbiting L2, is the cooling process and an eventual instrument turn-on, testing, and calibration. The telescope mirror alignment and calibration will begin when the temperatures fall within range for the instruments to be enabled.<\/p>\n\u00a9 NASA\/Bill Ingalls Arianespace\u2019s Ariane 5 rocket launched with NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope onboard on 25 December 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJWST Mission Timeline1<\/sup><\/h3>\n1995-1996<\/h5>\n An STScI committee recommends a significantly larger telescope capable of observing infrared light. NASA selects Goddard Space Flight Center and STScI to study the feasibility of the Next Generation Space Telescope<\/p>\n
10 September 2002<\/h5>\n Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) renamed James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)<\/p>\n
2004<\/h5>\n Construction begins on certain telescope parts, including Webb\u2019s science instruments and the 18 segments of the primary mirror<\/p>\n
2005<\/h5>\n NASA approves the use of European Space Agency\u2019s Ariane 5 rocket to launch JWST into space<\/p>\n
2010<\/h5>\n Webb passes its mission critical design review, which signifies that the integrated observatory will meet all science and engineering requirements for its mission<\/p>\n
2011<\/h5>\n Webb\u2019s mirrors are completed<\/p>\n
2013<\/h5>\n The two side \u2018wings\u2019 of Webb\u2019s backplane structure are completed by Northrop Grumman and ATK<\/p>\n
2014<\/h5>\n Manufacturing of the spacecraft parts (fuel tanks, gyroscopes and solar panels) begins<\/p>\n
2017<\/h5>\n The Optical Telescope Element successfully undergoes cryogenic testing in a giant thermal vacuum chamber called Chamber A at Johnson Space Center<\/p>\n
2020<\/h5>\n Webb is fully folded for the first time and completes final environmental testing to prove it can withstand the shaking and jostling of the launch environment. Webb\u2019s sunshield is also deployed for the final time on Earth<\/p>\n
11 May 2021<\/h5>\n Opened Webb\u2019s iconic primary mirror wings for the last time while it is on Earth<\/p>\n
12 Oct 2021<\/h5>\n JWST successfully arrived in French Guiana on Tuesday, after a 16-day journey at sea<\/p>\n
21 Dec 2021<\/h5>\n Launch Readiness Review successfully completed<\/p>\n
23 Dec 2021<\/h5>\n JWST rolls to the pad aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket<\/p>\n
25 Dec 2021<\/h5>\n Launched at 7:20 am EST on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America<\/p>\n
04 Jan 2022<\/h5>\n Sunshield successfully deployed<\/p>\n
08 Jan 2022<\/h5>\n Deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations<\/p>\n
24 Jan 2022<\/h5>\n JWST reached its final destination and settled into its final orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point<\/p>\n
This timeline depicts the key events in the JWST mission journey. Information correct at the time of publishing.<\/em><\/p>\nReferences<\/h4>\n 1: https:\/\/webbtelescope.org\/webb-science\/the-observatory\/mission-timeline<\/p>\n
Please note, this article will also appear in the ninth edition of our\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>quarterly publication<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ellen Watson, Digital Editor at Innovation News Network, explores the mission journey of the James Webb Space Telescope, from design through to launch. The mission journey of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) began in 1995, when the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) committee recommended the production of a significantly larger telescope that was capable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":18044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[771],"tags":[3477,809],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
James Webb Space Telescope: From first designs to final destination<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n