Why will it take six months to see JWST's first science images?

[lastlib]

Dr. Heidi B. Hammel is vice president of science for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), vice president of The Planetary Society, and one of six interdisciplinary scientists for JWST.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is ready for launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. More than 20 years in the making, JWST’s observations of the cosmos will change our understanding of our universe.
The Planetary Society has already created a resource page describing the JWST mission and its expected science return. In this article, I concentrate on one specific question related to JWST: Why must we wait for 6 months to see the first science images?

Unfolding the telescope
JWST is big! The main mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal mirror segments, is 6.5 meters (21 feet) wide, a hefty increase over the 2.4 meters of the Hubble Space Telescope. And the sunshield that protects JWST’s mirrors from the warmth of the Sun, Earth, and Moon is even larger: 22 by 10 meters – comparable in size to a regulation tennis court. To fit inside the rocket fairing (the compartment that will hold JWST as it is launched), both the mirror and the sunshield were folded up in a complex pattern of space origami. More importantly, both the mirror and sunshield must unfold successfully after launch for JWST to become fully functional.

JWST’s destination is the Earth-Sun Lagrange 2 point. After launch, it will take 29 days for the telescope to reach L2, and that month is characterized by NASA as “29 days on the edge.” During this month, JWST will go through a carefully choreographed sequence of “deployments” of its major structural components: unfurling its solar panels, deploying an antenna, and then beginning the slow process of sunshield deployment. After the sunshield is in place, the secondary mirror swings into place, and the wings of the primary mirror fold out. If this sounds simple, it is not:

(more at link)
https://www.planetary.org/articles/jwst-first-images?fbclid=IwAR0jBwwgvGz18PB9KC1eQDLLu4nVedUKvC2PWm1SIZCkElBkottTzKbv7XY

[WHITT]

1. The Mirrors Are Fairly Straightforward

as they're basically hinged, but the five sun shields each have a series of pins that all have to release, and if just one does not, it's a $10B boat anchor orbiting at the Lagrange.

Fingers crossed, so to speak.

[lastlib]

2. That pretty much sums it up.

I hope it all goes well--I'm seriously excited to see what vistas it will bring us. If its promise is realized, it will be amazing beyond words!

[Wounded Bear]

3. Memories of Voyager, where the high gain antenna didn't deploy properly and never worked...

I think it was Voyager 2 that had to use the low gain antenna, which slowed communications severely for the life of the probe. It was like trying to access DU through a 2400 baud modem.

Hoping all goes well. This guy is supposed to put Hubble to shame.

[Igel]

4. Now there's a word I forgot ever existed.

"Baud."

I can hear the modem chatter ringing in my ears still.

I hope soon to again forget it ever existed.

[Wounded Bear]

5. LOL!!!