Measuring the size of a tennis court, the James Webb Space Telescope's five-layer sunshield has been successfully deployed at NASA facilities. This key achievement advances its launch scheduled for October 2021.
As NASA's next-generation space observatory and successor to Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is poised to revolutionize our view of the early universe. Positioned at the L2 Lagrange point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth away from the Sun, it will observe in infrared wavelengths to peer back in time and analyze exoplanet atmospheres for potential habitability.
Prior to launch, rigorous testing ensures flawless performance. In April, engineers deployed the massive primary mirror. Summer tests verified command responsiveness in space-like conditions, all passing without issue.
Most recently, the team conducted full-scale deployment and tensioning of the five-layer sunshield.
Designed for infrared astronomy—invisible to the human eye—JWST faces challenges from Earth's heat and atmospheric interference. That's why it's stationed 1.5 million kilometers out, but the Sun's intense heat still poses a risk.
Engineers developed a 22-meter by 11-meter sunshield of five ultra-thin, highly reflective layers to keep the telescope shaded at around -223°C. Select instruments benefit from active cooling to -258°C.
Tests simulated space deployment: 139 actuators, eight motors, and thousands of components unfolded and tensioned the membranes—despite Earth's gravity causing friction. Deployment was flawless.
Next up: final post-environmental tests before shipment to the Ariane 5 launch site in French Guiana next summer, courtesy of the European Space Agency.
