{"id":10736,"date":"2022-01-01T19:35:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T11:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/webb-telescope-unfurls-diamond-shaped-sunshield\/"},"modified":"2022-01-01T19:35:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-01T11:35:08","slug":"webb-telescope-unfurls-diamond-shaped-sunshield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/webb-telescope-unfurls-diamond-shaped-sunshield\/","title":{"rendered":"Webb telescope unfurls diamond-shaped sunshield"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:<\/strong> Updated with one-day delay in sunshield tensioning.<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of the James Webb Space Telescope, as it appeared after opening the mission\u2019s five-layer sunshield. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flying outbound from Earth at a distance of more than 400,000 miles, the James Webb Space Telescope extended two booms Friday and unfurled the mission\u2019s five-layer sunshield to the size of a tennis court, notching a major milestone for the observatory after a nail-biting New Year\u2019s Eve for astronomers and engineers on Earth.<\/p>\n

The critical deployments marked some riskiest moments to ready the nearly $10 billion observatory for science operations, following its successful launch Dec. 25 aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket.<\/p>\n

NASA confirmed the successful extension of the port-side mid-boom in an update shortly after 7 p.m. EST Friday (0000 GMT Saturday). Nearly four hours later, NASA announced the starboard boom was extended.<\/p>\n

Webb\u2019s two sunshield mid-booms are designed to pull out the shade\u2019s five membranes into their distinctive diamond shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mid-booms are the sunshield\u2019s workhorse and do the heavy lifting to unfold and pull the membranes into that now-iconic shape,\u201d said Keith Parrish, Webb observatory manager at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center.<\/p>\n

Ground teams started extending the two sunshield booms several hours later than originally scheduled, NASA said in an update Friday evening. The space agency said mission controllers at the Space Telescope Science Institute took extra steps to confirm that a sunshield cover had fully rolled up before proceeding with the first mid-boom deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwitches that should have indicated that the cover rolled up did not trigger when they were supposed to,\u201d NASA said. \u201cHowever, secondary and tertiary sources offered confirmation that it had. Temperature data seemed to show that the sunshield cover unrolled to block sunlight from a sensor, and gyroscope sensors indicated motion consistent with the sunshield cover release devices being activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The covers were opened and rolled back to expose the sunshield to space Thursday, but the covers were supposed roll back more in the early phase of mid-boom deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis final preparation to begin extending the mid-boom was what the team was analyzing before beginning the deployment,\u201d NASA tweeted.<\/p>\n

Five telescoping segments of the port, or left-side, mid-boom began extending around 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) Friday. The motor-driven boom reached full deployment at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT), NASA said.<\/p>\n

The starboard, or right-side boom extension began at 6:31 p.m. EST (2331 GMT) and completed at about 10:13 p.m. EST (0313 GMT).<\/p>\n

Both mid-booms are now locked into position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe completion of the sunshield cover and mid-boom deployments over the past two days marks a critical milestone for Webb,\u201d NASA said in a written update Friday night.<\/p>\n

Webb has 344 devices that must work exactly as intended. Of those, 107 are membrane release devices, non-explosive actuators that pinned the sunshield in place for launch. All 107 successfully released to allow the sunshield to open to its full dimension.<\/p>\n

In total, the mission\u2019s deployment sequence relies on 140 release mechanisms, 70 hinge assemblies, eight deployment motors, 400 pulleys, and 90 cables running a quarter-mile in length. There are also an array of bearings, springs, and gears to transform Webb from its launch to operational configuration.<\/p>\n

The sunshade stretches 69.5 feet (21.2 meters) long and 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) wide.<\/p>\n

Officials have repeatedly said Webb\u2019s deployment schedule could change based on real-time conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is an example of why we continue to say that we don\u2019t think our deployment schedule might change, but that we expect <\/em>it to change,\u201d Parrish said. \u201cThe team did what we had rehearsed for this kind of situation \u2013 stop, assess, and move forward methodically with a plan. We still have a long way to go with this whole deployment process.\u201d<\/p>\n