WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists and
engineers operating NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will answer
questions about the mission's latest milestones in a NASA Science
Live broadcast at 3 p.m. EST Monday,
Jan. 24, followed by a media teleconference at 4 p.m.
The broadcast will air live online on the NASA Science
Live website, as well as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Audio
of the teleconference will stream live on the agency's website.
Ground teams plan to fire Webb's thrusters at 2 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 24 to insert the space
telescope into orbit around the Sun at the second Lagrange point,
or L2, its intended destination, nearly 1 million miles from Earth.
This mid-course correction burn has long been planned for
approximately 29 days after launch. This week, the mission
operations team selected the target date and time for the burn.
Engineers also finished remotely moving Webb's mirror
segments out of their launch positions to begin the
months-long process of aligning the telescope's optics.
Viewers of this episode, "What's Next for the James Webb Space
Telescope?" can submit questions on social media using the
hashtag #UnfoldtheUniverse or by leaving a comment in the chat
section of the Facebook or YouTube stream. Questions from the
public will be answered by:
- Amber Straughn, deputy project
scientist for Webb communications, NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
- Scarlin Hernandez, flight systems engineer, Space Telescope
Science Institute in Baltimore
Following the episode, NASA will host a media teleconference
focused on the L2 insertion burn and mirror movements, as well as
the next steps in preparing Webb to conduct science. The call will
feature:
- Lee Feinberg, Webb optical
telescope element manager, Goddard
- Amy Lo, Webb vehicle engineering
lead, Northrop Grumman
- Keith Parrish, Webb observatory
commissioning manager, Goddard
- Jane Rigby, Webb operations
project scientist, Goddard
To participate in the teleconference, media must RSVP no later
than two hours prior to the event to Laura
Betz at: laura.e.betz@nasa.gov. NASA's media accreditation
policy for virtual activities is available online.
Webb, an international partnership with the ESA (European Space
Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, launched Dec. 25 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. On Jan.
8, Webb finished unfolding in space after having been stowed
inside the nose cone of an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket for
launch.
The observatory is now preparing for science operations, a
human-controlled process called commissioning that provides the
team with the flexibility to pause and adjust as needed. NASA
provides regular updates about commissioning milestones on the Webb
telescope blog. The public also can follow Webb's progress online
via a "Where is Webb?" interactive tracker.
Webb will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within
the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the
early universe, and everything in between. Webb will reveal new and
unexpected discoveries and help humanity understand the origins of
the universe and our place in it.
Additional Webb Resources:
- Digital media kit
- Image and video galleries
- Media interview request form
For more information about the Webb mission, visit:
https://webb.nasa.gov
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SOURCE NASA