NASA's Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone

By Adam Barnhardt

The James Webb Space Telescope is getting closer to being ready for primetime. Wednesday, NASA announced the behemoth had completed all critical mirror alignment steps, even capturing a snapshot of a distant star to release to the public. According to officials with the space agency, the step ensures the telescope will either meet or exceed the goals of the group.

"More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope that anyone has ever put in space and came up with an audacious optical design to meet demanding science goals," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Today we can say that design is going to deliver."

Earlier this month, the dedicated Webb team at NASA HQ completed a phase called "fine phasing," which saw the final movements of the mirrors included on the telescope. During final phasing, the team ensured every optical parameter was tested and found to be performing at or above expectations. No critical issues, contamination, or blockages were found.

The Webb Telescope is the first in space to use segmented primary mirrors—18 hexagonal, beryllium mirror segments in total—as part of its design. Since the mirrors had to be folded up at launch, their alignment has been an integral part of the telescope's timeline in space so far.

"In addition to enabling the incredible science that Webb will achieve, the teams that designed, built, tested, launched, and now operate this observatory have pioneered a new way to build space telescopes," added Lee Feinberg, Webb optical telescope element manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

There are some final steps to take over the course of the next six weeks, and final alignment should take place by early May. Two months of preparations of the science instruments aboard will then take place before NASA is able to take and released the telescope's first full-resolution imagery. The outfit confirmed Wednesday that imagery will be released at some point this summer.

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