Two weeks ago, the most powerful space observatory ever built roared into the sky, carrying the hopes and dreams of a generation of astronomers, encased in mirrors, wires, motors, cable latches and thin sheets of wicker plastic. fireworks. On Saturday, the observatory’s James Webb Space Telescope completed the final critical step by unfolding the last part of its golden hexagonal mirror.

Nearly three hours later, engineers issued an order to lock the mirrors into place, a step equivalent to its full deployment, according to NASA. It’s the latest in a series of delicate maneuvers that the space agency calls a “single point of failure” while accelerating in distant space. Now the telescope is almost ready to go into operation, although there are more tense moments ahead. “I’m excited about this,” NASA science chief Thomas Zubchen said of all the telescope’s mirrors finally snapping into place. “What an amazing milestone – that beautiful pattern we saw in the sky is now almost complete.”

Named after a former NASA administrator who oversaw the formative years of the Apollo program, the James Webb Space Telescope is 25 years old and cost $10 billion. Three times the size of the Hubble Space Telescope, it was designed to look deeper into the past than its famous predecessor to study the first stars and galaxies that appeared at dawn. Mike said the launch on the Ariane rocket on the morning of Dec. 25 was flawless — engineers say it saved enough maneuvering fuel to significantly extend the mission’s estimated 10-year lifespan, and possibly another 10. year. Menzel, mission systems engineer at NASA Goddard. But the telescope must make a one-month journey to reach a million miles high, well beyond the lunar orbit, known as L2, where the gravitational fields of Earth and the sun mix to create the conditions for a stable orbit around the sun. Because the primary mirror is 21 feet wide, the Webb telescope is too large to fit into the rocket, so the mirror is made in sections—18 gold-plated hexagons folded together—that must pop into place once the telescope is in space. Another challenge is that the telescope’s instruments must be sensitive to infrared or “thermal radiation,” a form of electromagnetic radiation invisible to the human eye.

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