[AMBIENT MUSIC]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
As the Sun rises over the Guiana Space Center,
the team conducts final checks on the health and status
of the Ariane 5 rocket and its payload.
The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's number
one science priority.
[UPLIFTING MUSIC]
The Webb Telescope is designed to look back to a time
when stars and galaxies were first forming over
13.5 billion years ago.
With its revolutionary design and capabilities,
the Webb Telescope is about to unleash
a new dawn of discovery.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
Seconds before liftoff, the Ariane 5's liquid-fueled engine
comes to full power, followed by the ignition of the two
solid rockets.
We have liftoff.
[ROCKETS ROAR]
The Webb Telescope is finally on its way,
the result of years of study and development
by thousands of team members in the United States, Canada,
and Europe.
The Webb spacecraft ascends nearly vertically
through the heavy lower atmosphere of Earth.
As the rocket reaches maximum acceleration,
the spent solid rocket motors are jettisoned safely
into the Atlantic Ocean.
Reaching the upper atmosphere where protection
is no longer needed, the payload fairing
is jettisoned and falls away.
Accelerating through the atmosphere,
the Ariane 5 rocket's first stage expends its fuel
and shuts down.
The empty first stage then separates from the upper stage.
After first stage separation and before second stage ignition,
the Webb Telescope has a slightly downward trajectory
as it speeds over the Atlantic Ocean.
The upper stage motor ignites.
And the ascent to L2 resumes, never again to be interrupted.
The exposed telescope is delicate
and must be protected from the Sun's fierce heat.
To avoid overheating and damage, a carefully designed series
of oscillations are performed that provide
the necessary protection.
Near the end of powered flight, the roll program stops,
and the launcher then assumes the proper attitude
for separation.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
After separation from the Ariane upper stage,
the Webb Telescope continues its journey to L2
under its own power--
taking the next step to its final orbital station
one million miles from Earth.
The Webb Telescope is about to unleash
a new dawn of discovery.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
[GENTLE MUSIC]
The Webb Telescope separates from the launcher's
second stage.
The white ring close to the Earth
represents the Hubble Space Telescope's orbit.
And the larger orbit is the geosynchronous orbit
where most telecommunications satellites are located.
The solar array is Webb's first deployment.
When completed, all of Webb's electrical power needs
are satisfied by the solar array for the remainder
of the mission.
The onboard control system continually
monitors and updates the attitude
to ensure power generation and thermal safety.
To preserve the cleanliness of the mirrors,
thrusters are located only on the sunlit side
of the observatory.
The trajectory is designed without employing
a retrofire, which necessitates pointing the delicate telescope
at the Sun.
If course corrections are needed,
these velocity additions must be done early in the flight
to most efficiently use the mission's
limited precious fuel.
After completing midcourse corrections,
the Webb Telescope passes the orbit of the Moon.
Webb's initial transformation is the deployment
of the sun shield pallets.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
The tower separating the telescope and instruments
from the spacecraft and sun shield is next.
Next, the aft flap deploys.
This is key to managing momentum build-up in fuel consumption.
This structure helps to balance the pressure
from the Sun's light on the Webb Telescope
around its center of mass.
After the sun shield pallets reach their final positions,
the membrane launch restraints are released.
These have kept the sun shield membrane safely
in place from final stowage at the Northrop Grumman
facility in California through shipment and launch.
The sun shield protective covers roll back,
permitting membrane deployment.
The covers over the core region release next.
Then the mid-booms extend, and the sun shield
assumes its hexagonal, tennis court-size shape.
[HARMONIOUS MUSIC]
It is now time to tension the sun shield membranes--
each thinner than a human hair--
pulling each of the uniquely sized and shaped layers
to their optimal position.
When deployed, the sun shield allows the telescope
to cool to 385 degrees Fahrenheit below zero--
cold enough to liquefy air.
While the layer closest to the Sun is almost 190 degrees
Fahrenheit above zero, nearly the boiling point of water.
A difference of almost 600 degrees--
truly, fire and ice.
Once in the shadow of the deployed sun shield,
the telescope and instruments continue
cooling down to their final operational cryogenic
temperatures.
At the completion of membrane tensioning,
the secondary mirror deploys into position
and is latched rigidly in place.
The aft-deployable radiator releases and springs
into position, allowing the instruments to radiate
their waste heat directly into space and away
from the telescope.
Disposing of excess heat is crucial to the mission,
so that it does not overwhelm the faint infrared signals
to be collected from the cosmos.
The cord fold wings deploy and latch in place,
completing the major deployments of the largest
telescope in space.
[TRIUMPHANT MUSIC]
As the Webb Telescope continues out
to its operational orbit around the Sun-Earth L2,
the observatory continues to cool down
to its final cryogenic temperature state.
A trajectory correction applied 29 days
after launch puts the Webb Telescope into its halo orbit--
a key part of the mission design.
The Sun-Earth L2 point is where Webb's orbit around the sun is
synchronized with Earth's.
At this point-- one million miles from Earth--
Webb is free from the thermal influences
of the Earth and all eclipses.
Additionally, the Sun, Earth, and Moon--
the brightest objects in the sky--
are hidden by the deployed sun shield,
giving Webb a dark, cold, and stable environment to carry out
its mission of discovery.
Once the mirrors and detectors are sufficiently cold,
the wavefront sensing and control operations can begin.
This sophisticated multi-step operation's ultimate goal
is to position each of the Webb Telescope's movable mirrors
into their correct final positions and orientations.
Once the mirrors are aligned, the mission team
will continue checking out the science instruments,
preparing them for operations.
Commissioning is completed about 160 days after launch.
And the science mission is ready to begin.
This brings to fruition the work of the thousands of members
of the Webb team from the United States of America, Canada,
and Europe.
Astronomers from all over the world
can now use this facility to study the universe.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is a game changer.
Discoveries made by this observatory
will rewrite textbooks, inspiring the next generation
of future engineers and scientists.
This revolutionary tool will provide an unprecedented view
into the birth of the first stars and galaxies,
unleashing a new dawn of discovery.
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC]