After NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope completed its alignment process, the team announced that it expects its optical performance to meet or exceed the science goals the observatory was built to achieve. Slightly less than a week ago, the Webb Space Telescope team successfully completed the stage of alignment known as “fine phasing” and discovered no critical issues or measurable contamination / blockages to its optical path.
Despite the alignment process being completed, there are still months to go before the Webb Space Telescope provides the view of the cosmos as intended. However, this alignment milestone means the team is confident that its optical system is working as well as possible. Just like some of the largest ground-based telescopes, Webb utilizes segmented primary mirrors, making it the first in space to use such a design.
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More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope that anyone has ever put in space and came up with an audacious optical design to meet demanding science goals,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
