James Webb Space Telescope Shifts Focus to Mirror Deployment After Sunshield Success
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope successfully completes its complex sunshield tensioning and immediately prepares for the next major phase. The mission team is now focusing on unfolding the observatory's massive primary and secondary mirrors.
The James Webb Space Telescope successfully completes the most complex and risky phase of its deployment by fully tensioning its massive five-layer sunshield. This crucial milestone keeps the $10 billion observatory on track as it travels toward its final destination one million miles from Earth.
Mission controllers quickly pivot their focus to the next major task on the deployment checklist, which involves unfolding the telescope's intricate mirror system. NASA announces plans to begin this process by deploying the smaller secondary mirror ahead of the massive primary mirror array.
The primary mirror measures 21.3 feet wide and consists of 18 hexagonal segments that require careful unfolding and precise alignment over a 10-day period. Engineers initially estimate this mirror deployment starts by the weekend, though the exact timeline shifts as the mission team assesses the observatory's condition.