The James Webb telescope has been described as a ‘time machine’ that could help unravel the secrets of our universe.
When it is launched in 2018, it will be the world’s biggest and most powerful telescope, capable of peering back 200 million years after the Big Bang.
Today, Nasa engineers in Maryland installed the final mirror of the huge device – an important milestone following more than a decade of work.
‘Engineers have been working tirelessly to install these incredible, nearly perfect mirrors that will focus light from previously hidden realms of planetary atmospheres, star forming regions and the very beginnings of the universe,’ said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for Nasa.
‘With the mirrors finally complete, we are one step closer to the audacious observations that will unravel the mysteries of the Universe.’
Using a robotic arm reminiscent of a claw machine, the team meticulously installed all of Webb’s primary mirror segments onto the telescope structure.
Each of the hexagonal-shaped mirror segments measures just over 4.2 feet (1.3 meters) across – about the size of a coffee table – and weighs approximately 88 pounds (40kg).
Once in space and fully deployed, the 18 primary mirror segments will work together as one large 21.3ft diameter (6.5 meter) mirror.
‘Completing the assembly of the primary mirror is a very significant milestone and the culmination of over a decade of design, manufacturing, testing and now assembly of the primary mirror system,’ said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager at Goddard.
‘There is a huge team across the country who contributed to this achievement.’
While the primary mirror installation may be finished on the tennis court-sized infrared observatory, there’s a lot more work to be done.
‘Now that the mirror is complete, we look forward to installing the other optics and conducting tests on all the components to make sure the telescope can withstand a rocket launch,’ said Bill Ochs, James Webb Space Telescope project manager.
The telescope is expected to be 100 times more potent than its predecessor, Hubble, and three times larger.
As reported by UK DailyMail.Com, Webb will study every phase in the history of our universe, including the cosmos’ first luminous glows, the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, and the evolution of our own solar system.
The telescope’s biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the sun more than a million times.
The mirrors must remain precisely aligned in space in order for Webb to successfully carry out science investigations.
While operating at extraordinarily cold temperatures between minus 406 and minus 343 degrees Fahrenheit, the backplane must not move more than 38 nanometers, approximately one thousandth the diameter of a human hair.
Despite these technologies successes, the James Webb telescope has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers for its ballooning costs – at about $8.8 billion, far higher than the initial estimate of $3.5 bn (£2.33 bn).
Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, which circles the Earth, the JWST will go even further, to a place called L2, for LaGrange Point, 930,000 miles (1.5 million km) away in space.
That distance will keep the telescope cold, prevent it from being blinded by its own infra-red light and shelter it from radiation.
‘It will follow the Earth around the sun over the course of the year. So it’s in a sun center orbit instead of an Earth center orbit,’ said Greenhouse.
The heavy telescope is scheduled to launch atop an Ariane 5 rocket, made by the European Space Agency, from French Guiana in October 2018.- DAILYMAIL.COM
