The beginning of the deployment of its protective shield against solar radiation has been another of those critical moments in the mission of the James Webb Space Telescope to reach the point of the cosmos that will be its home for the next, at least, 10 years: the point Lagrangian L2. Fortunately, NASA engineers have announced that the parasol deployment process has been a complete success. Since it is unfolded, the sunshade will protect the telescope from solar radiation.
With this barrier the size of a tennis court , Webb will have the sensitivity to detect signals coming from the most distant objects in the universe while being protected by this giant kite-shaped sun shield, as the sunshield acts as an umbrella of massive proportions. epics that ensures that the observatory remains in the shade to detect all kinds of infrared signals from the ends of the universe (it is built to withstand 110 ºC).
Each of the five layers of the parasol was unfolded one by one over two days. Each one is cooler than the one below it, allowing the telescope’s sensitive instruments to operate at -266°C , the temperature needed to observe in the infrared, the wavelength at which the instruments at the center specialize. on board.
The most powerful space telescope ever built, it blasted off from French Guiana on December 25 and is now more than halfway from its orbital point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
