Updated By: LatestGKGS Desk
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Specification, Dimension, Position, Lifetime
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Specifications, Dimensions, Position in the Space, Mirrors, Operational Lifespan in the Space
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) equipped with a sunshield 22 meters in length, and a mirror 6.5 meters wide is twice the size of famous Hubble space telescope.
JWST mirrors are coated with 0.0001 mm thin gold across 25 square meters mirror’s surface. The total weight of gold used in the coating is 48.25 grams.
JWST position in the space is four times further than the moon. It will take around a month worth traveling in the space to reach a position of 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. This position is known as Lagrange point 2, or L2. This gives an advantage to JWST keeping its operations unhindered from the Earth and the Moon. This also means that there is zero tolerance for the launch and installation as no operation can be launched to fix it later like Hubble.
JWST has 18 individual hexagonal segments composed of lightweight beryllium. The mirror of JWST is 3 times bigger than Hubble. This helps it in collecting light data falling from distant astronomical objects.
The lifetime of operations of JWT is designed for 10 years till it consumes its onboard fuel to maintain its position for search operations and sending data back to the ground earth.
