The day has
finally arrived! JWST, the heir of Hubble and soon to be biggest and most
powerful space telescope, is about to takeoff. It will take place as soon as
possible after the launch window opens at 7:20 EST/12:20 GMT on December 25, Christmas Day on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou,
French Guiana, in South America.
The launch
will be live-telecasted on all new NASA channels and can be viewed below:
Here is an
overview of the exciting (or completely terrifying if you’re an astrophysicist)
moments that will occur after lift-off:
After
about 3.5 minutes, the fairing that shields the telescope will open. The
telescope will be visible to the vacuum of space for the first time. Right
after there should also be the very first communication from the telescope to check
that everything is a-OK
The next critical
step is 28 minutes in, when JWST will part from the launch vehicle. After few
minutes, the solar arrays will spread, and the telescope system will initiate
to power up. There are several more steps that the observatory will have to
take before it is completely operational.
JWST will
have to travel past the orbit of the Moon and reveal its heat shield and detectors.
That will take month or so, and few more will be needed to make sure that it is
all ok. But once its science expedition starts, it will not have any competitors
and will provide unbelievable new perceptions into the Universe.
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