Mission Reports

Tests are beginning this week at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the first flight of Astra’s small satellite launcher from the Florida spaceport, following the company’s successful November demonstration mission from Alaska.

Still cruising toward its operating orbit nearly a million miles from Earth, the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope completed a transformation into its final dimension Saturday with the last of some 50 post-launch deployments, the unfolding of the observatory’s 21.3-foot (6.5-meter) primary mirror. Many engineers considered it the most complicated series of spacecraft deployments ever attempted.

One of the two wings holding three of the James Webb Space Telescope’s gold-coated mirror segments folded into place Friday, setting the stage for positioning of the other wing Saturday to complete the nearly $10 billion observatory’s major deployments.

In another major milestone for the James Webb Space Telescope, a motor-driven tripod unfolded as planned Wednesday, moving a 2.4-foot-wide secondary mirror into position to reflect collected starlight back down to the instruments that will study it.

The final layers of the James Webb Space Telescope’s sunshade were robotically pulled taut with a system of motors, cables, and pulleys Tuesday, clearing a major milestone before unfolding mirrors to collect light from the oldest galaxies in the universe.

The James Webb Space Telescope deployed the first of its two primary mirror wings Friday to unfold the observatory’s reflective surface to its full 21.3-foot (6.5-meter) diameter. The second mirror wing unfolded Saturday.

Mission controllers started the delicate work of tightening the five razor-thin layers of the James Webb Space Telescope’s sunshade Monday. Managers said the nearly $10 billion observatory is “hunky-dory” after pausing deployments over the weekend to adjust the observatory’s power levels and ensure motors needed for the tensioning are in tip-top shape.