NASA Reveals The James Webb Space Telescopes' New Giant Golden Mirror

According to philosophers and scientists alike, arguably the most fascinating way to experience the past is to stare at the numerous stars in the night sky, that twinkle to let us know that it existed in the past . In the last 58 glorious years of NASA's existence, it has launched various expeditions, with the aim of uncovering the unknown, by the help of sophisticated instruments and state of the art technology. The latest news from the NASA press division reveals a new giant golden mirror that has been installed with the futuristic James Webb Space Telescope, which will be used in testing the infrared telescopes.

At time of integration, the combination of 18 mirrors were hidden under an individual black coloured cover. Now, after completion, for the first time the giant mirrors have been publicly launched for viewing. Due to the colossal structure of the integrated system, the mirrors would unfurl to fit inside a rocket and come in full position once placed in orbit, reportedly in 2018. The Hubble and Spitzer successor, JWST was an initiative taken and partnered by 20 countries across the globe to accomplish four major goals including analysis of light that came from the infant universe, created 13.5 billion years ago.

This telescope will also extract crucial data regarding formation of stars and planetary systems, and their evolution. While building, scientists have taken care of both strength and weight together and have made an apt choice by engineering the hexagonal disk mirror using Beryllium. Each segment is coated with a gold film that enhances the mirrors’ reflection of infrared light. Individually, it weighs 20kg and is embedded with numerous motors supporting the structure at the back, which will target to focus the telescope in space giving it a range of flexible positions.

Currently lead by Philip Stahl, the engineering team from NASA's JWST will soon perform a series of tests on the instrument to ensure a full-proof launch in 2018, from France. The James Webb Telescope is an international project initiated in 1996 and is supported by NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

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