Thread by @NASAWebb

Testing is the spacecraft equivalent of @NASA_Astronauts training. But how does a space telescope like #NASAWebb “train” for its launch journey?

Thread ⬇️

1) Let’s start with liftoff. A rocket launch is 100 times more intense and 4 times louder than a rock concert! 🎸

To simulate that level of extreme noise, Webb’s complete structure was recently blasted with powerful sound waves. 🔊

2) #NASAWebb was also carefully folded into its launch position, placed onto a shaker table, and vibrated from 5 to 100 times per second to match the speeds of its launch vehicle, an @arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. 🚀

Read our latest feature: go.nasa.gov/2SvxSX4

3) #NASAWebb went through its first comprehensive systems test as a fully connected telescope earlier this year. 🔌

Each line of code for Webb was tested & retested as different lines were combined into larger software components: go.nasa.gov/2Zoum5e

4) After launch, #NASAWebb will unfold in a series of steps, beginning with the solar array. (Without recharging, the telescope’s battery lasts only a few hours!) To mimic zero-gravity conditions, we tested the solar array by hanging it sideways. 🤙

go.nasa.gov/30IQgAh

5) We also verified that all 5 layers of #NASAWebb’s sunshield will be able to slowly unfurl like a giant kite in space.🪁

The sunshield is critical for protecting the telescope's sensitive mirrors & instruments from light and heat: go.nasa.gov/2J9pfgM

6) Next in #NASAWebb's unfolding sequence is the secondary mirror, which helps send light from the primary mirror to the scientific instruments. A support structure will extend to place the secondary mirror out in front of the primary mirror, as shown.

go.nasa.gov/2M4BAWG

7) Then the primary mirror will unfold its "wings" so that all 18 hexagonal segments are in view.

For all of these deployment tests, the team used cables, pulleys & weights to simulate the weightlessness of space: go.nasa.gov/3lpPZuc

8) In this room, we made sure that #NASAWebb's instruments wouldn’t interfere with the electromagnetic environment of the spacecraft. This way, we’ll know we’re seeing actual objects in space (not blips caused by interference) when we get images back.

go.nasa.gov/3ns2JCt

9) In the first 6 hours after launch, #NASAWebb will need to switch between communication networks & stations around the world. 🌍📡

We ran through these complex procedures, plus we used special equipment to simulate how we’ll “talk” to Webb in space: go.nasa.gov/3ntB9od

10) We tested the 2 halves of #NASAWebb in different thermal vacuum chambers at @northropgrumman & @NASA_Johnson. These huge chambers can match the vacuum of space and be cooled to the temperatures (-387 F, or -232.8 C) at which Webb needs to operate! ❄️

go.nasa.gov/2AfuJnt

11) #NASAWebb also spent time at @NASA_Johnson getting its “eyes” checked, or verifying that light would travel correctly through its optical system. We used test hardware that acted as a source of artificial starlight. 🌟

go.nasa.gov/2fj6TxZ

12) #NASAWebb is now in its final suite of testing before being shipped to its launch location. Up next: some more deployment testing, plus another full systems evaluation.

For more on Webb’s testing journey, read our Tumblr: nasa.tumblr.com/post/631437243…