The James Webb Space Telescope is about to launch into space, what will it bring to mankind?
Due to weather conditions, the James Webb Space Telescope, which was originally scheduled to be launched from the European Spaceport in French Guiana on December 24, was postponed by one day and changed to the 25th. The launch window will open at 7:20 Eastern Time on the 25th (20:20 Beijing Time on the 25th) and close at 7:52.
△On December 11, the Webb telescope was installed on top of the Ariane 5 rocket (photo source: European Space Agency)
Hubble’s “successor”
Responsibilities and expectations
According to media reports, the Webb Telescope will observe the galaxies that first appeared after the universe formed and search for signs of extraterrestrial life.
The Webb Telescope is the next-generation main space telescope in the United States. It is considered the “successor” of the Hubble Space Telescope, a universal observation platform. It is named after James Webb, the director of NASA in the 1960s. Its construction began in 2004. Since then, thousands of scientists, technicians and engineers from 14 countries have spent 40 million hours building the telescope.
According to reports, the Webb Telescope is considered “the world‘s most powerful complex space observatory.” It costs about 10 billion U.S. dollars, weighs 7 tons, the main mirror is 6.5 meters in diameter, and is composed of 18 huge hexagonal sub-mirrors; the area of the sun visor is equivalent to a tennis court. Its main mirror light collection area is 6 times larger than that of Hubble Telescope, and it can operate in an environment close to absolute zero (equivalent to minus 273.2 degrees Celsius).
△In September 2014, an engineer inspected the two test sub-mirrors on the prototype (photo source: NASA)
Once the Webb telescope is launched, it will run for about a month until it reaches an orbit about 1.6 million kilometers from the Earth. Within 29 days, the telescope will open the main mirror and unfold the sun visor. Subsequently, it will undergo a space setting process that lasts 6 months, including cooling the instrument, calibration, etc. In 2022, it will start collecting data and the first images.
After the telescope is launched into the sky, opening the main mirror, unfolding the sun visor and locking them in the perfect position is the most difficult part of the task. NASA has not yet tried to execute such a complicated series of steps remotely.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the Webb telescope is made up of more than 300 components, “any one of them fails, (the day of launch) will turn into a bad day.” “So the whole process must be perfect.”
△The main mirror of the Webb Telescope (photo in March 2020, image source: NASA)
Thousands of scientists have waited for several years, looking forward to what kind of space Weber can present to mankind. Nicole Lewis, deputy director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University in the United States, believes that the Webb Telescope can observe targets that the Hubble Telescope cannot observe, providing “a stunning new observational view of the universe.”
Sarah Seeger, a planetary explorer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also believes that the Webb telescope will promote humanity’s “exploration of life.” But “to find signs of life, we must be very lucky.”
After several delays
Will eventually fly to the universe
△The Webb Space Telescope arrives at Pariacabo Port in Kuru, French Guiana from California, USA (Image source: European Space Agency)
According to media reports, the Webb Telescope is known as the “first space observatory in the next decade”. It was originally planned to be launched in 2018, but due to the new crown epidemic and technical challenges, the launch time was delayed by several years.
On November 22 this year, NASA stated that the launch of the Webb telescope was postponed from December 18 to 22 due to a malfunction of the launch device in French Guiana. It is said that when the accident occurred, the technicians were preparing to fix the Webb telescope on the launch vehicle adapter. “One of the straps fixed on the launch vehicle adapter was accidentally loosened, causing the entire device to vibrate.”
After testing and inspection, the research team concluded that the Webb telescope was not damaged and the fuel supply was completed on December 3. The Webb telescope was placed on top of the Ariane 5 rocket on December 11.
△This is a combination of animated images produced by NASA in December 2021, showing the unfolding of the Webb telescope components (photo source: NASA)
Last week, NASA said that the teams are studying “communication issues between the observatory and the launch vehicle system” and postponed the launch date to December 24. NASA subsequently stated that the problem has been basically resolved and the launch will not be prevented.
Netizens look forward to the telescope launch
That history is about to unfold
On overseas social media platforms, netizens actively expressed their expectations for the upcoming launch of the Webb Telescope.
Netizen: “It’s great, I’m waiting for it to launch.”
Netizen: I just hope it can arrive at the designated place unharmed, I can’t wait for the first photo it took. I am going to hang it (the first photo) somewhere in my house. History is about to unfold…
Netizens: Please create a website with a countdown for each milestone in the first 6 months (after launch), that would be great.
A little patience is very important, we will send it to space. Pray for it with me.