Impression of Webb s journey to space
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Webbs flight into orbit will take place on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europes Spaceport in French Guiana. Webb is the next great space science observatory, designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. Webb will see farther into our origins from the formation of stars and planets, to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe. During the first month in space, on its way to the second Langrange point (L2), Webb will undergo a complex unfolding sequence. Key steps in this sequence are unfolding Webbs sunshield a fivelayer, diamondshaped structure the size of a tennis court and the iconic 6. 5metre wide mirror, consisting of a honeycomblike pattern of 18 hexagonal, goldcoated mirror segments. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb
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