Space observation is best done in outer space. This is perfectly normal. In addition, the larger the device that collects light and the better the remote fine-tuning function is good enough to respond to various changes in outer space. This is also a matter of course. But it doesn’t make sense to actually put such a telescope in space and make it fully operational.
This seemingly disgusting thing happened with Scott Friedman, who over the past six months made NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) fully operational. It was done by scientists and engineers.
According to NASA’s announcement, the first full-color image taken at the ‘Space Observatory’ will be released on July 12, and the evolution of astronomy begins. NASA administrator Bill Nelson didn’t say exactly what the images were, but said it would include “details of the atmospheres of extrasolar planets and the deepest images ever taken of the universe.”
In an interview with Friedman’s team, TheVerge, an IT-specialized media, reported on what he did in the six months and what the scientific community would get in return for that work. “[Friedman and his team]have worked on one of the most difficult to-do lists in any scientific field,” The Verge wrote in the article. “It’s about getting NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory in history, fully operational.” added.
JWST was launched on December 25, last year at 9:25 pm (Korean time) aboard the Ariane 5 from the Center spatial guyanais in French territory in South America. For the next two weeks, NASA focused on getting it into orbit and aligning the telescope. According to Friedman, there were about 300 large and small events during this period, but they went according to plan and were properly arranged.
JWST has a main reflector attached to 18 independent hexagonal objects and a sub-reflector shaped like a stingray kite. These reflectors spread out in outer space and serve to collect light. They all had to be strong enough to respond to the many contingencies and environmental changes that would occur in space, but on the other hand, they had to be sensitive enough to be controlled on a nanoscale.
In an interview, Friedman said, “I kept wondering if it would be possible in six months,” but “the effort of the scientists and engineers involved was able to keep the time.” “The microscopic collisions in space created a tiny ‘dimple’ on one plate, but we corrected the angle by fine-tuning it,” he said.
After the deployment process, the team focused on the mirror on the transmission plate. Lee Feinberg, Elements Manager for Optical Telescopes at NASA’s JWST, underscored how carefully the work was done, saying that initially 18 gold-plated mirrors were shifted by half an inch and took a week to correct.
“The situation moved at a snail’s speed, because each movement had to be done sequentially,” Feinberg recalls. He also emphasized the necessity and performance of the process, “When the mirrors started to align, the mirrors were millimeters apart, but because they were aligned in nanometers, the alignment improved a million times.”
“What I see touches me as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being,” Pam Melroy, deputy director of NASA, said at a press conference ahead of the release of the first photos. And we expressed our expectations for what we could do in the future.
In the article, The Verge detailed the past six months of the JWST’s full operation in space, and Feinberg said how he felt after completing that tedious process and taking test photos. “It was getting to a point where we could really start,” Feinberg said. “That’s exactly what the team was expecting.”
Feinberg, who has been involved in the development of JWST in some form for the past 20 years, said, “Personally, I just want to sit back and enjoy.” added.
Meanwhile, JWST is considered to be the next space radio telescope to succeed the obsolete Hubble Telescope. One star was photographed at an angle of 18 sides through a test shooting on the 6th, and on the 12th, the multi-angle photos taken in this way will be corrected and released.
AI Times Lee Seong-gwan busylife12@naver.com
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