It is in Kourou, Guyana, that the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, will take off aboard an Ariane V launcher this December 25 at 1:20 p.m. French time. This launch, already postponed many times because of technical incidents and last minute adjustments, must now propel into space the “telescope of the century” folded in on itself and encapsulated within the launcher. A future takeoff eagerly awaited, perhaps even the most anticipated of the decade, by the scientific community: after a month of travel, the James Webb will struggle for several years to explore the Universe and its past, like no other telescope has never been able to do this before.
From the European Space Center, NASA covers for the occasion all the activities surrounding the launch: in a communicated, the American space agency compiles a list of future events that Internet users may attend, including, dAt noon (still French time), live coverage of the launch, produced by NASA in English, and visible in the video below.
On the European side, it isEuropean Space Agency (ESA) which broadcasts a direct from noon from its TV channel to follow the launch of the James Webb. On its second channel (ESA WebTV Two tab, accessible via the previous link), and from 1 p.m., ESA offers the launch program in French.
James Webb telescope to deploy once in space
The result of more than 30 years of engineering, several thousand stakeholders and a budget of around $ 10 billion, the James Webb telescope will soon become the worthy successor of Hubble, already in service for 31 years now and which allowed to unravel many secrets about the youth of the Universe.
The differences between Hubble and James Webb. Credits: AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY
The main asset of the James Webb Space Telescope is its main mirror, 6.5 meters in diameter, made up of 18 smaller hexagonal mirrors. Made of beryllium and covered with a thin layer of gold, this huge mirror will be able to reflect light from the far reaches of the Universe. Behind it are then four cutting-edge measuring instruments, making it possible to break down the light received.
Finally, all these instruments are protected by a heat shield measuring the size of a tennis court, and composed of five ultra-thin layers of kapton, a material known for its resistance to extreme temperatures.
The maneuver of deployment of all these instruments will be the riskiest ever carried out by NASA. The telescope will have to operate 50 different “small” deployments, all while relying on 178 mechanisms. From maneuvers which should give many scientists a cold sweat, but also a lot of hope.
Two objectives: to probe the young Universe and discover new worlds
It has arrived at its final destination, the Lagrange L2 point, and after having calibrated all its instruments, that the James Webb will begin its mission: to explore the far reaches of the Universe. Four of his future observations are particularly eagerly awaited.
The space telescope will analyze with precision, thanks to its infrared detection, the atmosphere of new exoplanets. With that, he might be able to identify traces of alien life. But also, its research and analysis of the very first galaxies should enlighten scientists on the first moments of the Universe. Also planned are closer observations, in our solar system, of Mars or Europe, a moon of Jupiter.
–
