It is worth adding here that disassembling the cover is a very difficult task. Extremely thin membranes that, when unfolded, will occupy an area comparable to a tennis court. During one of the tests of the entire procedure for deploying the heat shield on Earth, the shield was torn, which significantly delayed the launch of the James Webb space telescope. If the cover were to be torn now, the telescope’s efficiency would drop significantly if it did not prevent observation completely. It remains, therefore, to keep your fingers crossed that everything will go perfectly in the coming days. The disassembly and tightening of the cover on the booms is currently planned for the weekend. If all goes well, we will have to unfold the telescope’s main mirror next week. After that, it will be a little easier.
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