NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the agency's successor to the famous Hubble telescope, launched on Dec. 25, 2021 on a mission to study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before. Webb is currently on a 29-day trip to its observing spot, Lagrange point 2 (L2), nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million km). It is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever launched.
Space.com is sharing live updates about the new space observatory's mission here: January 7, 2022.
The James Webb Space Telescope has begun unfolding the left side panel of its golden primary mirror, according to a NASA statement published just before 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT). The panel holds three of the hexagonal mirror segments the observatory uses to catch light.
During the deployment, team members will unlatch the wing from its stored position, then motors will unfold the panel in a process expected to take about five minutes. Then, the team will spend about two hours latching the panel into place, according to the statement. The team is expected to repeat the process tomorrow (Jan. 8) on the right side of the observatory, which will mark the last major unfolding from the spacecraft's launch position. That event will be livestreamed beginning around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), NASA has stated.
The James Webb Space Telescope will begin its final major unfolding events today with the first of two primary mirror deployments. Today, Webb is expected to unfold and secure its port primary mirror wing, which contains three of the space telescope's 18 hexagon-shaped mirror segments.
"Webb's final series of major deployments is planned to start tomorrow, Jan. 7, with the rotation into position of the first of two primary mirror wings," NASA wrote in an update on Jan. 6. "The second primary mirror wing – Webb’s final major spacecraft deployment – is planned for Saturday, Jan. 8."
Webb's two primary mirror wings, port and starboard, each have three mirror segments. They were folded back behind the central mirror face during launch in order to fit inside the payload fairing of Webb's Ariane 5 rocket. In other Webb news, the European Space Agency released a stunning HD video of the James Webb Space Telescope captured just after it separated from its Ariane 5 rocket.
For earlier history see main link: https://www.space.com/news/live/james-webb-space-telescope-updates
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