However, as seen from the many news reports published by the media (especially from NASA), the overall objectives for JWST are saturated in evolutionary (and really naturalistic) thinking. So obviously, there are some awesome observational science aspects (observable, testable, repeatable) to this mission, such as observing and studying the farthest regions of the visible universe that were previously hidden to us. Talk about a nerve-racking engineering challenge! The Evolutionary “Goals” Behind JWST But before the JWST can start taking any official measurements or images of the cosmos, it (amazingly) needs to pass 344 single-point failures 8 that could ultimately doom the mission at any one of these points, with the most difficult (and riskiest) part of having to “unfold” this massive telescope after separating from the launch vehicle (both the sunshield and mirrors had to be folded in an “origami” type fashion in order to fit in the rocket’s payload fairing). 5Īccording to NASA, the JWST mission is designed to last only five years, but it could last more than a decade if the amount of onboard fuel (used for maintaining its orbit) is efficiently minimized 6 (and based on the recent launch performance, 7 it looks like it could last even longer than that). And to keep any unwanted sources of infrared from interfering with the light being observed, all the onboard instruments will remain very cold (like -388✯ kind of cold!) primarily by using a large sunshade to keep the mirrors and instruments shielded from sunlight and by constantly keeping the telescope pointing away from the sun during operation. This helps the JWST to gather more light from distant objects in the universe, thus allowing the JWST to gaze much deeper into space than any other telescope.įurthermore, the JWST is equipped with instruments that are sensitive to infrared (heat) radiation 3 that gives it the ability to detect light beyond the visible spectrum 4 and allows astronomers to observe faraway distant objects (mainly in the “hidden” regions of the universe) at infrared wavelengths. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope that has a single primary mirror, the JWST has an array of mirrors that have a collective diameter nearly three times larger in diameter (which translates to about seven times more light-gathering ability) than Hubble.
JWST is considered “the next chapter in space-based telescope astronomy” and the highly anticipated (and much larger) replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope (which is struggling to stay in operation in low-earth orbit today).
This launch officially marks the start of a one-month journey to its final parking orbit, which will be at the L2 Earth-Sun Lagrange point 2 (about 940,000 miles away from the earth). 1 This $10B observatory is the largest (tennis-court sized) and most powerful telescope ever built. EST, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) successfully launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. (Psalm 19:1–2)Īfter more than 30 years in the making and numerous delays (from faulty cables, bad weather, etc.), finally, on Christmas Day of 2021 at 7:20 a.m. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
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