Hubble's Successor, the James Webb Space Telescope: Deployment Animation

[riverwater252]

I get chills whenever I see this video. The JWST is just so awesome!!!

[coolmaxhot]

Why not deploy and test it at the ISS then send it out to deep space?

[kalithenowhereman]

How many actual actions happen from beginning to completely unfolded?

[fretburnerjude]

So many things that fold out. The thought of anything messing up scares me. lol

[joshinho9]

You should add some robotic noises and the "2001: A Space Odyssey" theme as it opens :D

[MrSnowCore]

The JWST is supposed to be behind Earth (looking from the Sun), right? How then does it collect solar power? Wouldn't Earth be in the way?

[NASAWebbTelescope]

@MrSnowCore Actually it's just the opposite. The sun will be on the other side of the earth from Webb, and its sunshield will be able to block out the Sun, Moon, and Earth.

[AdmiralNitpick]

@NASAWebbTelescope This is wrong. JWST is going to L2, which puts the Earth between JWST and the Sun. The Sun will not be eclipsed by the Earth because JWST will be in a wide halo orbit around L2 rather than precisely at L2 itself.

A sunshield on one side of JWST couldn't block the Earth and Sun if they were on opposite sides of the craft.

[Dappdude]

@MrSnowCore The sun won't always(or never, I don't know) be blocked by the earth, since JWST will not be perfectly aligned with the sun and earth. It is "in orbit" around this point in space behind the earth.

This particular spot is also known as a Lagrangian (L2) point.

I hope this answers your question.