The independent mirror of JWST successfully unfold over the weekend with one side deploy on January 7 and the other on January 8 . All the major deployment of the JWST , the largest and most powerful telescope ever broadcast to blank , are now completed . The principal task left to accomplish is fetch to its operating ambit , about 1.5 million kilometre ( almost 1 million miles ) from Earth .
The mirror is composed of 18 hexangular segments made of glucinium , a metal that is both potent and light . Each segment weighs approximately 20 kilograms ( 46 pounding ) and the whole surface area of the scope is six times larger than Hubble ’s main mirror . The mirror is 6.5 cadence ( 21 feet 4 column inch ) across . If Hubble had such a expectant mirror it would have been too leaden to launch .
The segments are also cake in a thin layer of atomic number 79 . The reason for it is that gold is an excellent reflector of infrared light , which the scope will primarily observe .
The telescope is named aftercontroversial NASA executive James Webb , who ran the American outer space agency between 1961 and 1968 . JWST is considered the successor of Hubble and it is 100 times more sore than the veteran telescope . Its power and capabilities will permit studying the cosmos like never before , from investigating exoplanets to observing , for the first fourth dimension , the first stars and first galaxy that ever existed .
“ The successful culmination of all of the Webb Space Telescope ’s deployments is historic , ” Gregory L. Robinson , Webb program music director at NASA Headquarters , said in astatement . “ This is the first time a NASA - led mission has ever attempted to complete a complex chronological succession to stretch out an observatory in space – a remarkable feat for our team , NASA , and the world . ”
The squad is now hire the 126 actuator on the derriere of the segments to flex each mirror into coalition , a process that will take calendar month to complete and forms part of the many checks and calibrations postulate before the scientific discipline mission commences in full this summer .
“ I am so lofty of the team – cross continents and decades – that delivered this first - of - its - kind achievement , ” said Thomas Zurbuchen , associate executive for the Science Mission Directorate in NASA Headquarters in Washington . “ Webb ’s successful deployment exemplifies the best of what NASA has to propose : the willingness to attempt bluff and challenging things in the name of breakthrough still unknown . ”
JWST is a joint projection between , NASA , the European Space Agency ( ESA ) , and the Canadian Space Agency .
