The James Webb Space Telescope has completed the complex process of deploying its kite-shaped sunshade. The sun visor is about the size of a tennis court and has five floors. The first three were initially deployed, and the last two were completed late last night. The deployment of all five layers is critical to the US$10 billion (approximately Rs 74,525 crore) space observatory. The sunshade will keep the telescope cool enough to start capturing images of distant stars and planets.
NASA said that on the tenth day after the telescope that replaced the Hubble telescope was boxed and launched by the Ariane 5 rocket, the tightening of the shading layer was completed. Although the completion of this process eliminated a lot of failed space, it will take about a month for the James Webb Space Telescope to reach a fully deployed state.
“That’s it: we have just finished one of the most challenging steps in our journey into the universe. After all five layers of sun visors have been tightened, about 75% of our 344 single-point failures have been scrapped,” Aerospace The bureau wrote on Twitter. The tension of the sun visor is a victory for space engineering. Many people initially doubted its success because the design involved the use of a large number of motors, gears, cables, and other equipment. Engineers spent years testing the design and proving that the skeptics were wrong.
James Webb Sun Visor Manager James Cooper has previously stated that the tensioning phase of the sun visor is challenging because of the interaction between several components.
The sun visor helps to cool the telescope. The temperature on the hot side of the sun or the shield can reach up to 110 degrees Celsius, while the temperature can be as low as -236 degrees Celsius. This incredible temperature shift is achieved by a five-layer sun visor covering nearly six feet.
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