THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

Launched on December 25 2021 at the Guiana Space Centre, the James Webb Telescope gave a historical feat to celebrate on Christmas. Named after the successful man who oversaw the Apollo program which sent mankind to the moon, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) conducts infrared astronomy. It has 344 single point failures and is currently orbiting the sun at Lagrange Point.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The telescope uses infrared light to study cosmic phases through its mirrors. Red and infrared light travelling across space is received by the primary mirror, which is then reflected onto the secondary mirror. The light is then directed by this mirror into the instrument, where it records key information.

When telescopes look into cosmic distances, they are looking back into time since light across the universe takes time to reach earth. Hence, evidence of the earliest formations of the universe, as a result of the universe expanding, are now billions of light years away, taking its time to reach us. Thus, the JWST aims to observe distant galaxies, to better understand the universe and since the size of the mirror area determines the telescope's ability to look back in time, JWST can observe the distant universe as it was 13.7 billion years ago through its 18 mirrors.

ENGINEERING PROCESS

In 1996, an 18 member committee led by Alan Dressler proposed a dream to NASA. The innocent recommendation of developing a space telescope that would allow mankind to view billions of years back into time became one of the riskiest and priciest projects to be developed in history.

Construction on the James Webb Telescope began in 2004 where its science instruments and 18 mirrors became the primary focus. In 2006, all of Webb’s critical technologies were successfully tested under flight conditions. Hence, for the next two years, the Webb mission went under review which came to the conclusion that NASA was ready to venture towards phases C and D. These phases included design, testing and assembly. By 2011, all 18 mirrors are finally complete and by 2013, wings of the JWST structure are completed by Northrop Grumman and ATK. In 2014, manufacture of the spacecraft parts like fuel tanks and solar panels begin whilst cryogenic testing of the Integrated Science Instrument Module took place. Over the next two years, this testing comes to completion. By 2018, fruitful communication tests are run from the Missions Operations Center at STSTcl to the telescope’s own spacecraft in California. In 2019, the Sunshied and Bus successfully ( JWST’s spacecraft elements ) passed all tests which proved the telescopes resistance to the extreme environment of space. By 2020, the Webb finally completes all last testing and awaits its launch in 2021.