James Webb: Successful launch of mankind’s largest space telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on the 25th (local time), which NASA invested 10 billion won (about 11.875 trillion won).

Ariane 5 carrying the Webb telescope was launched from the European Space Agency (ESA) in French Guiana in South America at 12:20 pm on the same day.

Less than 30 minutes before launch, a ground antenna in Malindi, Kenya, confirmed the signal that the Webb telescope had successfully detached from the Ariane 5 spacecraft.

The space telescope is named after the person who successfully conducted the Apollo program in the 1960s.

The Webb telescope is said to be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble telescope.

“James Webb will take off from the rainforest to the end of time and embark on a voyage back to the birth of the universe,” said NASA spokesperson Rob Navias.

This launch was NASA’s dream project. Thousands of people around the world have been involved in this project over the past 30 years.

Although the Ariane is a reliable vehicle, there is no guarantee that rocket launches will always be successful.

The Webb telescope will begin observations in earnest about six months after undergoing a preparation process, such as adjusting various scientific equipment through test observations for major observational targets.

The Webb telescope will fly about 1.5 million kilometers outside the balance of gravity between the Earth and the Sun over the next month.

In this process, the telescope parts that were folded at the time of launch must be unfolded and fixed. It’s like a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis.

“It’s important to recognize that there are so many elements that need to keep working and work flawlessly,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Director. “He said.

The James Webb telescope has a giant mirror 6.5 m in diameter gilded with gold. At its core, it’s almost three times larger than the main reflector of the Hubble Telescope.

The scientific community expects to use four optics coupled with ultra-sensitive instruments to look deeper into space than ever before.

The goal is to observe the situation where the first stars and galaxies were formed 13.5 billion years ago, right after the Big Bang. It was the nuclear reaction of substances such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur that produced the first heavy atoms essential for life.

Another goal is to explore the atmospheres of distant planets. It will help measure whether other planets are habitable.

“We’re going to enter a whole new astrophysical system, a new frontier,” said planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel.

It takes about two weeks for the Webb telescope to unfold. A gilded beryllium mirror of 18 hexagons unfolds, a light-gathering device. It is used to capture the light generated during the cosmic birth. The motor is engraved on the back of the mirror.

“The important thing is to keep the temperature cool,” said Mark McCorrin, ESA’s chief scientific adviser.

This is because the temperature of the telescope is optimized when the temperature of the telescope is about -233 degrees Celsius for infrared observation.

So a large awning at the back of the telescope blocks sunlight and light from the Earth.

“When these temperatures are met, we can take sensitive pictures of the distant universe where the first galaxies were born and of planets orbiting other stars,” said McCorrein.