The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

Space telescope’s ‘golden eye’ opens, last major hurdle

- By Marcia Dunn AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.» NASA’s new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday, the final step in the observator­y’s dramatic unfurling.

The last portion of the 21-foot (6.5-meter) mirror swung into place at flight controller­s’ command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope.

“I’m emotional about it. What an amazing milestone. We see that beautiful pattern out there in the sky now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, chief of NASA’s science missions.

More powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, the $10 billion Webb will scan the cosmos for light streaming from the first stars and galaxies formed 13.7 billion years ago. To accomplish this, NASA had to outfit Webb with the largest and most sensitive mirror ever launched — its “golden eye,” as scientists call it.

Webb is so big that it had to be folded orgami-style to fit in the rocket that soared from South America two weeks ago. The riskiest operation occurred earlier in the week, when the tennis courtsize sunshield unfurled, providing subzero shade for the mirror and infrared detectors. Flight controller­s in Baltimore began opening the primary mirror Friday, unfolding the left side like a dropleaf table. The mood was even more upbeat Saturday, with peppy music filling the control room as the right side snapped into place. After applauding, the controller­s immediatel­y got back to work, latching everything down. They jumped to their feet and cheered when the operation was finally complete two hours later.

“We have a deployed telescope on orbit, a magnificen­t telescope the likes of which the world has never seen,”

Zurbuchen said, congratula­ting the team. “So how does it feel to make history, everybody? You just did it.”

His counterpar­t at the European Space Agency, astronomer Antonella Nota, noted that after years of preparatio­n, the team made everything look “so amazingly easy.”

“This is the moment we have been waiting for, for so long,” she said.

Webb’s main mirror is made of beryllium, a lightweigh­t yet sturdy and coldresist­ant metal. Each of its 18 segments is coated with an ultra thin layer of gold, highly reflective of infrared light. The hexagonal, coffee table-size segments must be adjusted in the days and weeks ahead so they can focus as one on stars, galaxies and alien worlds that might hold atmospheri­c signs of life.

Webb should reach its destinatio­n 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away in another two weeks; it’s already more than 667,000 miles (1 million kilometers) from Earth since its Christmas Day launch. If all continues to go well, science observatio­ns will begin this summer. Astronomer­s hope to peer back to within 100 million years of the universe-forming Big Bang, closer than Hubble has achieved.

 ?? BILL INGALLS/NASA VIA AP ?? Engineerin­g teams at NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore monitor progress as the observator­y’s second primary mirror wing rotates into position, Saturday.
BILL INGALLS/NASA VIA AP Engineerin­g teams at NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore monitor progress as the observator­y’s second primary mirror wing rotates into position, Saturday.

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