A new era has begun in space exploration. Yesterday, December 26, the NASA press service announced the successful initial deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The space telescope was sent into orbit on Saturday, December 25. Yesterday it became known that he successfully separated from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, and also straightened the solar panels. The full deployment of all elements of the space observatory will take 29 days.
James Webb Telescope Promo Video
"The telescope's revolutionary technology will allow us to explore every phase of cosmic history - from our Solar System to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe and everything in between. Webb will make new and unexpected discoveries and help humanity understand the origin of the universe and our place in it," the NASA press service reported.
The plot of the BBC TV channel about sending a telescope into space
James Webb is one of the largest scientific projects on space exploration. Its creation was sponsored by NASA ($8.8 billion), the European Space Agency (ESA) ($815 million) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) ($165 million). Thousands of engineers and hundreds of scientists, as well as more than 300 universities, organizations and companies from 29 US states and 14 other countries worked to make Webb a reality.
The telescope, named after James Webb, the head of the Apollo program, which allowed man to visit the Moon, is to replace the Hubble Observatory in orbit. This is the most powerful of the space telescopes operating in the infrared range. He is called the main hope of world astronomy. The telescope will provide a search for exoplanets and trace the evolution of the universe.
The mirror of "James Webb" in comparison with the analog of "Hubble"
Image source: wikimedia.org
