WHEW: NASA successfully deploys complex sunshield on James Webb Space Telescope. “The telescope was far too large to launch to space in its final configuration, so mission designers crafted the telescope to unfold after launch. The deployment relies on hundreds of mechanisms and moving parts, and everything has to go right in order for JWST to function. Along the way, there are up to 344 single-point failures, deployments without any backups that must execute as designed or else they could jeopardize the entire mission.”
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