5 Critical Events that will determine the success of James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Telescope will be one of the hardest technical mission NASA will ever attempt.
Despite the numerous delays, technical challenges, funding crisis and uncertainties the Mighty
James Webb Telescope was launched on December 25.
But The launch itself does not guarantee the success of James Webb . After decades of development
it all comes down to 5 critical steps that will determine whether this 10 Billion dollar
project of NASA will succeed or not.
What are they?
Let's talk about them in detail:
Every decision, in astronomy and in life, has its own mix of advantages and disadvantages.
Setting up an observatory in orbit is costly, risky, and depends on a successful launch
and deployment: there are several single points of failure, and if anything terrible goes
wrong, the entire operation is a waste of time.
However, if you are successful, you will be able to observe in ways that no ground-based
observatory can: without interference from the atmosphere, without regard for day or
night, without being affected by terrestrial light pollution, and over a range of wavelengths
that are severely limited on Earth.
James Webb’s predecessor Hubble telescope has been humanity’s best optical observatory
but was limited in its infrared observations.
In terms of temperature, resolution, light-gathering power, and wavelength range, it will be vastly
outperformed by the future James Webb Space Telescope, which will greatly advance the
frontiers of knowledge.
Inspired from the Hubble telescope Webb, picks up from where Hubble falls short- The infrared
spectrum.
We all know that because of the expansion of the universe, light from the farthest of
galaxies is stretched to the red part of the spectrum or infrared.
James Webb is specifically made to observe these galaxies from the early universe and
tell us more and more about the early universe.
But whether it will safely operate or not, depends upon 5 Critical events.
Success implies that mankind will have the most powerful space observatory ever built.
Failure would result in the most expensive "space garbage" in history.
5-) The Ariane 5 Launch- This is obviously one of the most important event in the journey
of the James Webb Telescope.
It's imperative that the lunch goes perfectly.
Even though the Ariane 5 rocket has a solid history in launches, a launch in 2018 did
go wrong.
Before experiencing a partial failure in January 2018, the rocket performed 82 straight missions
without incident.
The Ariane 5 rocket takes off from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, a spaceport near
the equator that allows the rocket to take advantage of the Earth's faster rotation speed
and increase launch performance.
Using an adaptor known as the Système de Lancement Double Ariane, the ECA version of
the Ariane 5 is capable of launching two huge satellites, one on top of the other (SYLDA).
The adapter protects the lower satellite while also supporting the upper satellite.
Its Ariane 5 rocket is regarded as a dependable workhorse, and the telescope itself has completed
tests designed to simulate the conditions of a launch, so confidence in the ride to
orbit is strong.
Webb will be wrapped into the RUAG Space fairing at Emmen, Switzerland.
This ogive-shaped fairing at the top of Ariane 5 is 5.4 m in diameter and stands more than
17 m tall.
This structure, made of carbon fiber-polymer composite, will shield Webb from thermal,
acoustic, and aerodynamic stressors throughout the climb to space.
Because the JWST is too large to fit within any current launch vehicle when fully inflated,
it has been folded to fit inside the Ariane 5's fairings.
It will unfurl piece by segment over the course of two weeks as it makes its way to its eventual
destination.
4-) Separation and Solar Array Deployment- Occurring 30 minutes after the Launch, deploying
the solar array is another critical process.
Webb must deploy vital components that were folded up to fit within its rocket when it
leaves our planet and moon behind.
This high-stress operation requires 178 release mechanisms, each of which must function flawlessly
in order for the telescope to accomplish its 40 or so big deployments.
Webb's solar-power array will unfold just minutes after the spacecraft separates from
its rocket and begin giving power to the spacecraft.
Although the placement of a solar array is a very straightforward technique, its success
is important for powering all subsequent activities.
Webb's solar-power array will deploy minutes after the spacecraft departs from its rocket
and begin powering the ship.
Although the installation of a solar array is a simple process, its success is critical
for powering all future operations.
The antenna is then released, and a mid-course correction (i.e., a "burn") is applied, putting
James Webb back on track.
After barely two hours, the high-gain antenna is deployed, and the mid-course correction
confirms where it's going and how it's oriented.
The antenna is fully deployed after a total of 24 hours, allowing upstream and downstream
connections with the observatory.
3.)
Full sunshield deployment- After the deployment of the support structures another very critical
step is the Sunshield deployment.
If it fails, or if the tensioning catches or snags, the telescope will not cool, resulting
in a catastrophic loss.
As the telescope approaches its third day in orbit, Webb will begin to deploy one of
its most complex and visible instruments: the sunshield.
A stack of five gigantic kite-shaped sheets of polyimide film, if unspooled without a
hitch, will keep sunlight and heat from reaching the telescope's infrared sensors, which must
remain at extremely low cryogenic temperatures to work correctly.
The sunshield is critical for keeping the telescope cool enough to detect the infrared
The deployment of the sunshield is critical to realizing scientists' highest hopes for
the observatory.
However, the procedure's complexity and high frequency of single-point failures are the
stuff of nightmares for aerospace engineers.
2-) Mirror Deployment- The anxiety of sunshield deployment will not go away soon.
Six days into the trip, the telescope's secondary mirror will be lowered into position at the
end of three long arms.
Despite its name, the secondary mirror is an important part of Webb's success, according
to Hammel.
If other deployments do not go as planned, there may be workarounds.
The primary mirror must be deployed, resulting in a single, smooth surface with 20 nanometer
accuracy.
Webb's 6.5-meter main mirror, composed of 18 beryllium-hewn, gold-plated hexagonal pieces,
will begin to unfold on the seventh day.
First, two "wings'' will swing out and lock into place like folding table components.
The mirror segments will then be pushed or pulled into a micron-precise alignment by
small actuators, resulting in the primary mirror's unique focus.
Deploying and orienting the primary mirror will need the use of 132 actuators and motors,
all of which must work properly.
1-) L2 Orbit Insertion- The final and an important event is the L2 Orbit insertion.
After all the 4 critical moments it will boil down to this final event, which will determine
the position of James Webb.
Simultaneously, calibration and alignment of equipment and the primary mirror will commence.
We'll be ready for the last pre-science stage after four months.
The remaining two months will be spent aligning, testing, and integrating the components, instruments,
and optics from afar while the spacecraft is cooled and in orbit.
Before we can proceed, all of the instruments must be correctly calibrated.
The only one ready by the end of the fourth month will be NIRcam, but the other three,
NIRspec, the fine-guidance sensor, and MIRI, must be refined.
When the NIRcam is finished, the telescope will experience "first light," when it will
collect its first science data, return its first image, and, after processing, disclose
it to the public.
Webb's infrared vision will allow scientists to see past the dusty veil and see through
it all.
Webb will offer crucial information about the temperatures, speeds, and chemical compositions
of black hole stellar cloaks.
Scientists may use this information to understand more about the black hole's mass and size,
as well as how it feeds on stars.
Because the soup of the Dark Ages was not totally uniform, little regions of gas began
to clump together and become more dense due to gravity.
It will be similar to an orchestra concert, with hundreds of individuals playing various
instruments.
Everyone must have practiced their part, and all instruments must be ready.
And finally the song is played.
James Webb is one of the most revolutionary telescopes humanity has ever built.
The kind of data and information it will tell us about our universe and what happened in
the early universe is beyond imaginable.
So what do you think about these critical events?
How will James Webb help humanity?
Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
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