We've been hearing you loud and clear: Why doesn't Webb have cameras for its journey to #UnfoldTheUniverse? It sounds like a no-brainer, but there's more to it than meets the lens. Thread ⬇️ Artist impression of the fully deployed James Webb Space Tel
1. Light 💡

Our gold-coated mirrors were photogenic on Earth, but the mirror side of Webb is pitch dark in space. Meanwhile, the other, Sun-facing side of Webb is so shiny that cameras there would have glare & contrast issues.
2. Power 🔌

We would have to run cables and power out to cameras on Webb, and the power balance on the cold side of Webb is especially delicate. More cables adds more of a threat of heat and vibration transfer through the wires, which could impact image quality.
3. Temperature 🥶

A camera that would work at the cryogenic temperatures on the cold side of the sunshield would have to be specially designed. Plastics fall apart, shrink, and crack, and glues don’t hold together.
4. Complexity 🛠️

Webb is big and changes configuration during deployments. Where do you put cameras? How many? Narrow-field ones add complexity; wide-field ones don’t give detailed information.
So how *do* we know a deployment is successful? Our spacecraft has mechanical, thermal, and electrical sensors, which provide telemetry to our ground teams. Mission control at @SpaceTelescope also has a special visualization tool to check the status of the telescope. Screen still from live broadcast of the James Webb Space Tel
📸 Everything clicking? Read more about the considerations behind why we don’t have engineering cameras onboard here: blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/0… #UnfoldTheUniverse

And as for the telescope itself — don’t worry, we removed the “lens cap”:

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with NASA Webb Telescope

NASA Webb Telescope Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @NASAWebb

4 Jan
Can you feel the tension? Webb is feeling it...in a good way! We tensioned 3 of 5 sunshield layers yesterday. Today we start with Layer 4: blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/0…

Follow along LIVE for the final layer starting ~9:30 am ET (14:30 UTC): nasa.gov/live #UnfoldTheUniverse Screen still of the James W...
We just tensioned #NASAWebb’s sunshield some more, that was Layer 4. Now everybody look alive, it’s time to tension Layer 5! And better yet — keep watching along live: nasa.gov/live #UnfoldTheUniverse Photo of the Webb Telescope...
If you’re tuned in to our live broadcast, now’s the perfect time to go grab a drink of water! Coverage resumes at 11:30 am ET (16:30 UTC) for the tensioning of Webb’s fifth and final sunshield layer 🤩

More on our sunshield: jwst.nasa.gov/content/observ… #UnfoldTheUniverse
Read 4 tweets
1 Jan
We successfully deployed #NASAWebb’s port sunshield mid-boom, which pulls out our 5 sunshield layers. While scheduled for earlier today, our team paused to confirm the sunshield cover had fully rolled up: go.nasa.gov/3pL07Tn #UnfoldTheUniverse

Thread ⬇️
When switches did not trigger to indicate the sunshield covers were rolled up, team members used temperature data & gyroscope sensors to confirm that they had. This analysis took extra time, but allowed the team to move forward. #UnfoldTheUniverse
The deployment of the 5 telescoping segments of the mid-boom began around 1:30pm ET and reached full deployment at 4:49pm.

Webb's deployment steps are all human-controlled, so the schedule can change. The team plans to deploy the starboard mid-boom tonight. #UnfoldTheUniverse
Read 4 tweets
27 Dec 21
Ooh, sick burn! 🔥

In this case, we’re not talking about insults, but a burn of fuel to adjust #NASAWebb’s trajectory on its million mile (1.5 million km) journey to #UnfoldTheUniverse. #ICYMI, Webb had its first mid-course correction burn Dec. 25: go.nasa.gov/32uctX1
So far, the post-launch journey has been smooth sailing. Burns are scheduled to leave as much remaining fuel as possible for #NASAWebb’s ordinary operations over its lifetime, like small adjustments to keep Webb in its desired orbit once it arrives. #UnfoldTheUniverse
One interesting aspect of the #NASAWebb launch and its burns is that we always "aim a little bit low." Webb's thrusters can only push Webb away from the Sun, not back toward the Sun (and Earth). We designed launch and these burns to always avoid drifting away.
Read 4 tweets
22 Dec 21
Ahead of our launch, we asked you to show us what you believe #NASAWebb will reveal through art. Here are just some of submissions we received for our #UnfoldTheUniverse art challenge! Keep them coming! Special thanks to all of our participants. More info: go.nasa.gov/unfoldtheunive…
Our gallery of #UnfoldTheUniverse submissions: webb.nasa.gov/content/featur…

Credits: @NASAGoddard/ Madison Dean, Lead Producer and Editor

Host: @kelliegerardi with Delta V.
Artists featured in this video:
Mason Cortez
Sreshta Velamuri
Jon Young
Galina Ivanova
Mashal
Collin Cochran
Thessaly Dunn
Jaden Berkley
Noelle Lui
Siddharth Sajith Nair
Shelina Swastika Kumar
Elena Schwer
Mansi Ashtamkar
Reyansh Sunwar
Jedidiah Dore
(1/2)
Read 4 tweets
16 Jul 21
Tomorrow is #WorldEmojiDay! We’d like you to guess some Webb-themed emojis and tell us what they are in the comments below ⬇️ We'll reveal the answers soon! Graphic with "Webb Emoji Quiz" title at the top. T
1. The first answer is “Webb telescope”! That’s us — the largest and most powerful space observatory ever built. Webb will look back to about 13.6 billion years ago, observing the first stars, galaxies and more. Latest milestones: go.nasa.gov/3ihiquc Close-up image of the James Webb Space Telescope's gold-coat
2. It’s “sunshield”! The sunshield is a 5-layer, tennis court-sized structure that will always protect Webb's sensitive mirrors & instruments from the heat/light of the Sun, Earth and Moon. More: jwst.nasa.gov/content/observ… The James Webb Space Telescope displaying its fully unfolded
Read 10 tweets
15 Jul 21
Tower stowed ✅
Lens cap removed ✅
Sunshield pallets stowed ✅

3 more testing milestones have been completed for #NASAWebb! The world’s most complex & powerful space telescope is making big progress for its launch & million-mile journey later this year. go.nasa.gov/3ihiquc Ball Aerospace technician Larkin Carey carefully removes Web
1. The tower is a pipe structure that helps Webb maintain operating temperatures by separating its cold optics from its warm spacecraft bus. Fully extended, the tower reaches 10 ft in length! Recently tested for the last time, it is now lowered & locked into place for launch. Technicians work on testing the deployable tower assembly of
2. Here, a @BallAerospace technician carefully removes Webb’s "lens cap," which has kept the observatory’s instruments protected and contaminant-free. With launch approaching, removing this cover gives engineers additional freedom in packing up the rest of the observatory. Ball Aerospace technician Larkin Carey carefully removes the
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(