The primary mirror of the James Webb space telescope has been opened: the two wings of 6.5 meters in diameter have been perfectly aligned, completing the last of the crucial phases of the putting into orbit of this powerful instrument, the result of the collaboration of NASA, European Space Agency ( ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which promises to revolutionize our astronomical knowledge.
After the deployment of the complex solar shield, 5 very thin sheets the size of a tennis court and essential to protect the instruments from the heat of the Sun, the opening of the primary mirror was one of the most critical phases of the entire mission.
Given the impossibility of being able to carry a 6.5 meter diameter mirror on a rocket, the developers of the telescope had chosen to fold it into 3 sections that had to be aligned in a complex operation in orbit. The procedure kept everyone in suspense but completed perfectly: "even if the journey is not yet complete, I join the Webb team to breathe a little easier and imagine future discoveries that will inspire the world", he NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
"Deploying the Webb telescope was complex, but also an impressive engineering masterpiece," commented ESA CEO Josef Aschbacher.
Now the telescope will test all 18 hexagonal elements that make up the mirror to align them perfectly and will proceed to a new ignition of the engines for a programmed course correction that will bring the observatory into the final orbit, in the so-called Langrangian point L2 at 1.5 million. of kilometers from Earth.
