NASA Webb TelescopeVerified account

Testing is the spacecraft equivalent of @NASA_Astronauts training. But how does a space telescope like #NASAWebb “train” for its launch journey? Thread pic.twitter.com/FQNmeDJRt5

1) Let’s start with liftoff. A rocket launch is 100 times more intense and 4 times louder than a rock concert! To simulate that level of extreme noise, Webb’s complete structure was recently blasted with powerful sound waves. pic.twitter.com/dU0WgCTMEm

2) #NASAWebb was also carefully folded into its launch position, placed onto a shaker table, and vibrated from 5 to 100 times per second to match the speeds of its launch vehicle, an @arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. Read our latest feature: https://go.nasa.gov/2SvxSX4 pic.twitter.com/dEbfdtp365

3) #NASAWebb went through its first comprehensive systems test as a fully connected telescope earlier this year. Each line of code for Webb was tested & retested as different lines were combined into larger software components: https://go.nasa.gov/2Zoum5e pic.twitter.com/2fEvmHcYBL

4) After launch, #NASAWebb will unfold in a series of steps, beginning with the solar array. (Without recharging, the telescope’s battery lasts only a few hours!) To mimic zero-gravity conditions, we tested the solar array by hanging it sideways. https://go.nasa.gov/30IQgAh pic.twitter.com/wdu0qUVSwI

5) We also verified that all 5 layers of #NASAWebb’s sunshield will be able to slowly unfurl like a giant kite in space. The sunshield is critical for protecting the telescope's sensitive mirrors & instruments from light and heat: https://go.nasa.gov/2J9pfgM pic.twitter.com/h5h17p94cC

6) Next in #NASAWebb's unfolding sequence is the secondary mirror, which helps send light from the primary mirror to the scientific instruments. A support structure will extend to place the secondary mirror out in front of the primary mirror, as shown. https://go.nasa.gov/2M4BAWG pic.twitter.com/WLuQuWLl7A

7) Then the primary mirror will unfold its "wings" so that all 18 hexagonal segments are in view. For all of these deployment tests, the team used cables, pulleys & weights to simulate the weightlessness of space: https://go.nasa.gov/3lpPZuc pic.twitter.com/CSSc01X3eF