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Amy Loh is on a media conference at the moment and has just explained that the pause has been to check on the configuration of the solar panels to ensure adequate power output and the re-orientate the telescope to reduce temperatures of the motors which control sunshield temperature (-300K!). They are now happy that things are in the right operating window and tensioning has started.
What does -300k mean?
I think that's when Newcastle fans think about putting a coat on. Minus 573C.
Spoiler - that's not a real thing. -300F is pretty chilly - still T-shirt weather though.
What does -300k mean
Well it isn’t degrees Celsius or Kelvin so just a leaves fahrenheit. ~-148 C
No you're right. I thought she said -300 Kelvin but that is obviously nonsense. So perhaps 300 Kelvin. Then again since it's America I would guess it's -300 F, which sounds right given that the current cold side temperature at the instruments is -314 F.
I think that’s when Newcastle fans think about putting a coat on. Minus 573C
😆
Yup - just caught up with them and Amy says everything is hunky dory 😹🥳 and she’s name checked on the BBC site…
Pictures from the development and build - good shots of the vast size of the sunshield
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/albums/with/72157624420579873
First layer tensioned.
😃
They're cracking on now. 2nd and 3rd layers fully tensioned.
They’re cracking on now. 2nd and 3rd layers fully tensioned
Where are you getting your updates from? The 'Where is Webb' page doesn't have so much detail
From "Where is Webb" click on the "Webb Space Telescope" link - bottom left of the page. From there click on the Blog link.
Or Blog
Also Twitter @NASAWebb
oh that is excellent, thank you
There is a Nasa TV Live broadcast at he moment as layer 4 and 5 tensioning continues. They have a pretty cool "live animation" tool which takes real time data and creates a visual model of what is currently happening.
I'm finding this telescope to be really uplifting news. After all the idiocy of the last five years it's reassuring that a few humans can still do really clever things. If the telescope is ever found by alien life they'll at least think 'well, they're not all morons.'
And that's it. All 5 layers deployed.
There is a Nasa TV Live broadcast at the moment
I really like that lady doing the interviewing. She has a great balance of being tech but still being able to do the interview thing
edit: it's also super relaxing to listen to, it's like a non-musical version of lo-fi beats
Mint.
Does Amy Lo get to go on the lash now?
Hah! I hope so - but I think she is going to have a huge hole in her life once it is all done.
Update - not heard a word from her. I reckon she is still sleeping LOL!
It's secondary mirror deployment day. Coverage on nasa.gov/live from 14:45 if you're stuck on a boring conference call (aren't they all?).
Yeah, I am not sure if Amy's job is done now or whether she is still involved for the remainder of the unfurling.
xkcd have it covered.
"Being deployed to an L2 orbit beyond the Moon so out of range of any human or indeed robot servicing mission".
It's not going to the Earth/Moon L2 point, it's going to the Sun/Earth L2 point, which is actually even further away. If they sent it to the Earth/Moon L2 point we wouldn't be able to communicate with it, due to the moon being permanently in the way.
zx970
Full Member
“Being deployed to an L2 orbit beyond the Moon so out of range of any human or indeed robot servicing mission”.
I don't get how it could be out of range for a robot tbh. It has a docking ring, so surely if it did go belly up they could at worst just send a ship out and tow it back if worst really comes to worst.
Same with when it runs out of fuel in ten years, why not just send up a fuel ship to dock with it?
I don’t get how it could be out of range for a robot tbh.
Yeah.... If the telescope has got there then something can do so also Shirley.
to be honest I suspect they have these kinda contingence plans. If not, I want a job at NASA. 😆
Guess it works well for the narrative though, so why not I guess. Nothing wrong with a bit of harmless drama added to the story.
1. The PAF isn't designed for in-space docking, it's just designed to hold the payload to the launcher and is often jettisoned after separation anyway.
2. In its currently deployed state, the PAF is/would be completely useless as a docking point as a.) its covered by a deployed solar panel and b.) you'd have to maneuver around the fragile sun-shield to do anything at all with the optics. Hubble was essentially a KH11 modified for celestial observation and as such is designed to be loaded, unloaded and potentially reloaded into the SS - by comparison, it is VERY robust.
3. The JWST spacecraft wasn't designed to be refueled in space, so there's likely no simple method for topping up the tanks. They may well be at the core of the structure. This was certainly the case for Bepi-Columbo.
4. ANY robot mission would have to be designed from the ground up to deal with EVERY eventuality all on it's own as the communication delay could be disastrous should they lose control of the robot. It wouldn't be cheap or easy to do this. You might almost be as well building another JWST and sending a new one out there. All of the design and launch specifics are now known.
Has it found anything interesting yet ?.
A distant rock perhaps 🙂
Er, no, it's still spreading its wings.
I still really, really hope it works.
Now the sunshield is properly deployed and the secondary mirror down and in place they can do some science with it even if the primary mirror does not deploy properly. Just won't be as much science as with the full mirror.
But yes, I also hope it fully deploys and works as expected...
Same with when it runs out of fuel in ten years, why not just send up a fuel ship to dock with it?
They have already stated that the onboard fuel will last longer than the initial estimate of 10 years as the Ariane launch was so accurate it put it into an almost perfect flightpath with very little additional correction required.
ANY robot mission would have to be designed from the ground up to deal with EVERY eventuality all on it’s own as the communication delay could be disastrous should they lose control of the robot. It wouldn’t be cheap or easy to do this.
I believe a certain SpaceX have managed just that already with the Dragon.
And if running out of fuel means end of life for the JW then what is there to lose if the robot got it wrong (other than a few $m obvs) 🙂
sharkbait
Free MemberI believe a certain SpaceX have managed just that already with the Dragon.
Dragon 2... But it was built to do a fairly limited set of missions, and was following directly in the footsteps of Dragon 1 so it was more a case of making a previously human-interacted process autonomous, much easier than a first-ever mission to a distant satellite.
Anyway it may be that in 10 years time we will have something better. Just to emphasise a point made earlier though, it has been stated that due to the excellent job Arianne did the fuel is expected to last "considerably longer" than 10 years.
The first of the two primary mirror "wings" has been successfully deployed. Second one tomorrow which then completes the major deployments. The rest is "just" fine tuning.
Come on, so close...
deploying the mirror.... 35
80 degrees
deployed!!
Oh yeah!
The mirror! Is that so it can take selfies?
Latched. All done!!