TECH

James Webb in outer space

As planned, the James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched into space. The Ariane 5 launch vehicle, along with a device worth about $10 billion on board, was launched from the Kourou cosmodrome site in French Guiana at 7:20 am local time (3:20 pm Moscow). Now the telescope needs to cover 1.5 million km before reaching its objective and unfold the mirror to scan the Universe in optical and infrared range.

Scientists began discussing the need to develop the next infrared telescope after Hubble in the late 1980s, even before Hubble went into space. Device design began in 1996, and the James Webb ​​launch was originally supposed to take place between 2007 and 2011. However, start-up was delayed several times, development became more expensive, and at some point, US lawmakers arrived. thinking about stopping funding the project. Ultimately, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) convinced Congress to continue funding and, at the time of launch, the total cost of the project was $9.7 billion.

The successful delivery of the James Webb into outer space is just the beginning of a period of about a month that it will take the telescope to reach its ultimate goal, which is the Lagrange L₂ point of the Sun-Earth system. During the flight, the telescope will deploy a solar panel, needed to power the systems, as well as an antenna to communicate with the Earth. The most difficult step will be the implantation step of the 6.5 meter composite mirror, for the correct functioning of which it is necessary that its elements be coupled together with the greatest precision.

Image source: NASA