James Webb Space Telescope: Ready to Launch

James Webb Space Telescope, which is named after the second administrator in NASA James Edwin Webb, is ready to launch in 2021. It is the successor of the famous Hubble Space Telescope. Webb is the largest space observatory and it will provide improved features and missions over Hubble in space.

In 1990, Hubble was launched into space but after a few weeks scientists discovered its mirrors were not in the right shape. It could not carry out any of its tasks because of that. Three years later, the problem was fixed and astronauts added secondary mirrors to the original one and the telescope was ready then to achieve the anticipated results.

Webb Features

Webb Telescope is twice as big as Hubble, but is half the weight (6500 kg). Its gold-coated mirror which is a light-gathering surface, is 6.5 meters in diameter. It is actually not one large mirror, but it has eighteen hexagon mirrors. This will make Webb able to have a very wide view, 15 times wider than Hubble. It will study astronomical objects visible in infrared radiation (near- infrared astronomy). Also, it can see the mid-infrared region.

It has a large sun-shield to protect it from heat and light. The sun-shield is 22m by 12m, the same size of a tennis court. It is five-layered and the layers are made from Kapton E. The shielding is intended to protect the mirror and the Telescope and keep them cold.

Webb mission

Webb will not be orbiting Earth as Hubble. It will operate near the Earth-Sun L2 (language point), that is 1.5 million kilometers beyond Earth’s orbit in the opposite direction from the sun. Eric Chaisson, an astrophysicist at Harvard, says that Webb will be too distant in Space to go back to in case there is something wrong. In spite of this negative point, he is still optimistic everything will be fine.

Webb should carry out several main tasks. 

The first goal is to search for light from the earliest galaxies and stars that formed in the cosmos after the Big Bang and takes images for them. But, how can that be possible? Because light takes so much time to travel in the universe, Webb will be able to observe objects which are 13.6 billion years old. The second mission is to study how galaxies form and evolve. In addition to that, Webb will try to understand stars and planets’ formation. It will also explore origins of life and planetary systems. Besides, it will locate evidence of dark matter.

Webb’s mission is planned to start by October 2021 with a $10 billion price tag. The launch will take place in Guiana, France on an Ariane 5 rocket, the most reliable launch vehicle. The French Guiana is a perfect launch site as it is near the equator and this helps give an additional push. The mission is supposed to last for five years, but NASA is optimistic it will last for ten years or more.

Currently, Webb is still undergoing tests at the aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman in California. Back in 2018, when it was supposed to launch, a problem was discovered while testing the sunshield. Screws and washers came off the spacecraft during vibration testing, but technicians solved this hardware problem. It underwent a thorough reevaluation then and launch was postponed to March 2021. There was another delay to October 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions.

Prof. Günther Hasinger, ESA Director of Science says ‘the breakthrough science enabled by Webb will revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.’ 

 
Keywords: James Webb Space Telescope, Webb, Webb features, Webb mission