NASA Webb TelescopeVerified account

@NASAWebb

Launched: Dec. 25, 2021. First images: Expected in June 2022. Follow along as the world's most powerful space telescope gets ready to !

webb.nasa.gov
Joined April 2009
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    25 Dec 2021

    For years, we’ve been answering the question: When will launch? This morning, we answered that for the last time! Next up: Where is Webb? We’ve got an answer for that, too! See where Webb is on its million mile journey to :

    Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket launches with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, from the ELA-3 Launch Zone of Europe’s Spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with a 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) primary mirror. The observatory will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
    412 replies 4,581 retweets 26,094 likes
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  2. Retweeted
    31 Dec 2021

    Start spreading the news! Before the space telescope works to , it’s making a cameo in Times Square. Wishing you and yours a full of light & discovery. 📸:

    The gold hexagonal mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope are displayed on large monitors on the exterior of the Morgan Stanley building in New York's Times Square.
    65 replies 413 retweets 4,328 likes
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  3. 9 hours ago

    Webb's sunshield was secured for flight with 107 individual pins, called 'non explosive actuators' which were designed to keep all 5 layers of the sunshield tidy for launch. With the completion of this deployment, all of them have now been successfully released.

    67 replies 319 retweets 4,118 likes
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  4. 9 hours ago

    Shine bright like a diamond 💎 With the successful deployment of our right sunshield mid-boom, or “arm,” Webb’s sunshield has now taken on its diamond shape in space. Next up: tensioning the 5 sunshield layers!

    188 replies 1,966 retweets 12,414 likes
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  5. 12 hours ago

    Replying to @WorldSpaceflig1
    The sunshield covers had been rolled back to the extent necessary yesterday. Part of the mid-boom deployment involved rolling them the rest of the way back. This final preparation to begin extending the mid-boom was what the team was analyzing before beginning the deployment.
    15 replies 48 retweets 917 likes
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  6. 13 hours ago

    The deployment of the 5 telescoping segments of the mid-boom began around 1:30pm ET and reached full deployment at 4:49pm. Webb's deployment steps are all human-controlled, so the schedule can change. The team plans to deploy the starboard mid-boom tonight.

    63 replies 201 retweets 2,911 likes
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  7. 13 hours ago

    When switches did not trigger to indicate the sunshield covers were rolled up, team members used temperature data & gyroscope sensors to confirm that they had. This analysis took extra time, but allowed the team to move forward.

    43 replies 129 retweets 2,323 likes
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  8. 13 hours ago

    We successfully deployed ’s port sunshield mid-boom, which pulls out our 5 sunshield layers. While scheduled for earlier today, our team paused to confirm the sunshield cover had fully rolled up: Thread ⬇️

    143 replies 1,406 retweets 11,174 likes
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  9. 31 Dec 2021

    "Liftoff from a tropical rainforest to the edge of time itself..." Get out your tissues and watch Webb placed into its rocket fairing, then moved to its launch pad. Witness again our historic launch and the start of Webb's epic million-mile (1.5 million km) journey.

    The Webb Telescope Journey to Space, Episode 6
    The final chapter of Webb's journey to space.
    57 replies 435 retweets 2,815 likes
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  10. 30 Dec 2021

    You can probably guess what our 2022 resolutions are! We’re going to keep working to unfold and deploy in space and then start to together! 🥳 Follow along with our progress:

    This , we resolve to advance laser communications to provide missions with higher data rates than ever before! What are your resolutions? Share them with the hashtag and we might transmit them through space via our LCRD mission!
    34 replies 113 retweets 1,407 likes
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  11. 30 Dec 2021

    When throwing shade is a good thing… The Webb telescope and science instruments are ready to enter the shade, never again to see direct sunlight. See what’s next as we : Follow deployments:

    67 replies 410 retweets 4,216 likes
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  12. 30 Dec 2021

    Find it hard to get out from under the covers in the morning? Imagine doing it in space! Our sunshield covers protected the sunshield while it was folded for launch. Today those covers were removed to prep for unfolding the sunshield!

    108 replies 830 retweets 6,991 likes
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  13. 30 Dec 2021

    📺 Tune into NASA TV in the coming days for LIVE coverage of 's final deployments as we . Post final deployments, there will be a media briefing. See this release for more detail:

    21 replies 246 retweets 1,774 likes
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  14. Retweeted
    30 Dec 2021

    🎥 Great footage from camera of NASA/ESA/CSA James Space Telescope as it separates from its upper stage and unfolds its solar panel, 25 December 2021 👉

    Webb separation from Ariane 5
    NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope separates from Ariane 5 upper stage on 25 December 2021 (credit: ESA/Arianespace; music: Lonely Waltz by C. Hatherley with permission; camera: Réaltra SSE)
    109 replies 1,354 retweets 5,712 likes
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  15. 30 Dec 2021

    🔆 Photons of sunlight hitting the sunshield surface will exert pressure on the sunshield. The aft momentum flap uses the pressure of these photons to balance the sunshield and keep Webb steady.

    63 replies 180 retweets 3,154 likes
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  16. 30 Dec 2021

    We just successfully deployed our aft (back) momentum flap, which helps balance pressure from solar radiation on Webb's sunshield, much like a trim tab helps stabilize a boat or plane! ⛵ ✈️ Sail on, Webb!

    200 replies 2,145 retweets 19,080 likes
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  17. 29 Dec 2021

    Moving on up! ⬆️ Our team has just confirmed that we have successfully extended our Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA) upwards, making space for our sunshield deployments in the next few days -- another step completed as we :

    Artist illustration the James Webb Space Telescope amidst a starry space background, having just completed its deployable tower assembly deployment.
    137 replies 996 retweets 7,259 likes
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  18. 29 Dec 2021

    NOW LIVE: You can track the temperatures of Webb’s hot and cold sides on our website at ! Note that temperatures will continue to change as Webb unfolds and then cools down to operating temperatures over the next months.

    46 replies 332 retweets 2,170 likes
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  19. 29 Dec 2021

    How large is the temperature difference between the two sides? On the hot side, parts of Webb will reach temperatures as high as 85 degrees Celsius, or 185 degrees Fahrenheit! Meanwhile, on the cold side Webb will be about -233 degrees Celsius, or -388 degrees Fahrenheit.

    26 replies 157 retweets 1,875 likes
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  20. 29 Dec 2021

    You’re hot and you’re cold… 🎵 is split into a “hot side” and “cold side” by its sunshield. The sunshield will always be facing the Sun to block out heat and light, as Webb's mirrors need to stay extremely cold to observe faint heat signals in the universe!

    The Two Sides of the Webb Telescope. Hot side 185 F/85 C, solar panel/communications antenna/computer/steering: reaction wheels & jets/light from the Sun. Cold side -388 F/-233 C, science instruments/detectors & filters/mirrors Credit: STScI
    211 replies 2,539 retweets 15,941 likes
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  21. 29 Dec 2021

    Silicon is the go-to chip and sensor material for a reason — it works! Learn about the semi-conductor properties that make this element the right choice for , in the newest episode of Elements of Webb.

    Elements of Webb: Silicon, Ep08
    Silicon is the go-to chip and sensor material for a reason - it works. Learn about the semi-conductor properties that make this element the right choice for the Webb Telescope. Credit: @NASAGoddard
    19 replies 143 retweets 1,193 likes
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