The JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) is expected to operate for five years after its launch. However, NASA is hopeful that the observatory will last more than 10 years. Although it will run mostly on solar power, it needs a small amount of fuel to maintain its orbit and its instruments, so it won't be able to run forever.
December 18, 2021 is the historic launch day, the day it will go into orbit. Deploying it is the most critical part of the process.
"The sunshade is like a parachutist's parachute: it must bend perfectly to deploy without snagging or tangling," explains NG systems engineer Krystal Puga. “To refine the sequence, we ran multiple deployment tests over several years on smaller, full-size models. We practice not only the deployment, but also the storage process. This gives us confidence that Webb will be deployed successfully. "
